The crypto market hit a speed bump Thursday, with major digital assets sliding after legislative momentum on Capitol Hill came to a screeching halt. It's one of those classic crypto moments where good vibes meet political reality, and suddenly everyone remembers that regulation isn't exactly a straight path.

The Damage Report

Bitcoin (BTC) retreated 1.29% to $95,485.03 as of 8:20 p.m. ET, backing off from a two-month high of $97,000 it had touched earlier. Trading volume dropped 13% over the past 24 hours, suggesting traders are getting a bit skittish.

Ethereum (ETH) slipped 0.82% to $3,306.90, continuing its frustrating sideways dance in the $3,300 range. XRP (XRP) fell 2.66% to $2.07, while Solana (SOL) dropped 2.75% to $142.06. Dogecoin (DOGE) had the roughest day of the bunch, tumbling 4.23% to $0.1397.

The culprit? The Senate Banking Committee decided to postpone markup on a cryptocurrency market structure bill after facing pushback from industry players. Nothing quite kills momentum like legislative gridlock, and the market made its feelings known immediately.

The carnage extended beyond crypto tokens themselves. Strategy Inc. (MSTR) shares closed down 4.70%, while Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) dropped 6.48%. When the regulatory outlook gets murky, everything with crypto exposure tends to move in tandem.

Liquidation Station

According to Coinglass data, over $320 million was wiped out from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours. The pain was concentrated among the bulls, with long liquidations accounting for 81% of the total. That's what happens when leveraged traders bet on continued upside and the market decides to take a breather instead.

Bitcoin's open interest fell 2.31% over the same period, though interestingly, more than 50% of Binance traders with open BTC positions remained long. Someone's feeling optimistic, or at least stubborn.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index downshifted back to "Neutral" from "Greed," which is probably healthy after the recent rally. Nobody wants to see things get too frothy.

Not Everyone Lost

While the majors struggled, a few altcoins managed to defy gravity. Decred jumped 11.99% to $25.14, Wrapped Pulse surged 11.40% to $0.00001638, and Yooldo climbed 8.16% to $0.4633. Sometimes the smaller coins march to their own drummer.

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $3.23 trillion, contracting 1.26% in the last 24 hours.

Traditional Markets Stage Comeback

While crypto wobbled, traditional equities had a solid day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 292.81 points, or 0.60%, to close at 49,442.44. The S&P 500 lifted 0.26% to settle at 6,944.47, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.25% to end at 23,530.02.

The stock market got a boost from jobless claims data showing continued labor market strength. Claims for the week ending January 10 declined by 9,000 from the previous week to 198,000, comfortably below market estimates of 215,000.

Oil prices eased, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate falling below $60 a barrel after President Donald Trump softened his stance on Iran. Energy markets are apparently taking a wait-and-see approach to geopolitical tensions.

Bulls See Path to $105K

Despite Thursday's selloff, some analysts remain optimistic about Bitcoin's trajectory. Cryptocurrency payment company B2BINPAY shared analysis suggesting Bitcoin's market structure remains bullish, pointing to accumulation by large holders and a healthy leverage reset.

"Overall, the structure favors continuation," the analysts noted. "As long as Bitcoin is above the $94,000–$95,000 area, a move to $100,000–$105,000 is realistic within weeks."

That $95,000 level is shaping up as the line in the sand. Hold above it, and the bulls can dream of six figures. Slip below, and things could get uncomfortable quickly.

Widely followed cryptocurrency commentator Ted Pillows highlighted that total altcoin market capitalization is holding above an ascending trendline, which could be a bullish signal for the broader crypto market.

"If BTC holds above the $95,000 level, I think a relief rally in alts will happen," Pillows projected.

So the thesis is pretty straightforward: Bitcoin needs to defend current levels, and if it does, we could see altcoins catch a bid. If it doesn't, well, that $320 million in liquidations might just be the appetizer.