Bitcoin Price Falls. It's a Big Week for Cryptos. — Barrons.com

By Elsa OhlenBitcoin fell early Monday while smaller cryptocurrencies dropped even more to start an important week for crypto with key legislation moving through Congress.Bitcoin is down 2.3% over the past 24 hours to $102,408, according to CoinDesk data. The world's largest digital coin saw big movement over the weekend after credit-rating firm Moody's downgraded U.S. debt from its AAA rating Friday.Bitcoin spiked late Sunday to more than $106,500, but quickly gave back those gains. It isn't immediately clear what prompted the surprise rise and subsequent fall — but the whole crypto industry is in for a potentially historic week.Bitcoin is inching back closer to its all-time high of $109,224.74, according to Coindesk, reached on Jan. 20.The Senate looks set to pass a stablecoin bill as soon as Monday in what would be the first major legislative win for the industry.The Genius Act would regulate coins pegged to a fiat currency such as Tether. Among other things, it would require issuers to hold reserves of liquid, safe haven assets as well as follow anti-money-laundering and terrorism finance rules.Altcoins Ether, XRP, and Solana fell between 4% and 7% early Monday, according to CoinDesk.Write to Elsa Ohlen at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.