The S&P 500 just closed at another all-time high, while Bitcoin once again rose to the $80,000 level early Saturday.
The largest cryptocurrency was trading at $78,180 during the Asian session on Saturday, up 0.8% for the week and recovering from a low of nearly $75,500 hit on Wednesday on reports of a military escalation in Iran. Reports on Friday that Tehran had conveyed a new ceasefire proposal to Washington through Pakistan sent WTI crude prices down nearly 3% to around $102 a barrel.
Stocks are having a much better week. The S&P 500 closed 0.3% higher on Friday, hitting a record high, marking its fifth straight week of gains on strong earnings from technology giants.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% to hit a record high. Apple Inc rose 3.2% on better-than-expected revenue outlook. Oracle’s shares rose 6.5% on news that it has joined the list of artificial intelligence companies working with the Pentagon’s classified network.
The big development for cryptocurrencies is on the policy front.
The Senate on Friday released compromise text of the long-negotiated Clarification Act, ending months of negotiations between cryptocurrency companies and bank lobbyists. The agreement, co-discussed by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, would prohibit stablecoin issuers from offering returns purely based on holding reserves but preserve activity-based reward programs that cryptocurrency companies build as incentives for using their platforms.
Coinbase, which has been at the center of the negotiations, immediately expressed support, with chief legal officer Paul Grewal saying the language “preserves activity-based rewards tied to actual participation in crypto platforms and networks, which is what the bank lobby says they want.”
A Senate Banking Committee hearing that formally debated and revised the bill can now proceed and clear the way for the legislation to advance further in the Senate. After the bill becomes law, the Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will have a year to develop detailed rules on what cryptocurrency companies can and cannot do with yield products.
Meanwhile, ZeroStack CEO Daniel Reis-Faria said in a report that Bitcoin’s range-bound trading reflects broader macro uncertainty rather than cryptocurrency-specific weakness.
“Bitcoin’s current hold below the $78,000 mark isn’t really a cryptocurrency issue, but rather has to do with what’s happening in the broader market. It’s not surprising that the Fed left interest rates unchanged, but there’s no clear direction on what happens next, which is preventing investors from getting involved.”
Reis-Faria pointed to ETF outflows and weak demand as symptoms. “This doesn’t mean institutions are leaving the market, it just means they are not increasing their exposure right now. If money starts to flow back in, especially from institutions or through ETFs, Bitcoin could move higher soon.”
The picture in other majors is mixed. Ethereum is at $2,310, XRP is at $1.39, and solana is at $84.57, all nearly flat this week. Dogecoin has been the strongest performer, rising nearly 10% this week to $0.105, with futures open interest hitting a one-year high earlier this week.
The schedule going into next week is the same as the entire month. Bitcoin will need a new catalyst to move decisively above $78,000, and the most likely sources, clarity from the Fed, a re-acceleration of ETFs or the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, are outside the market’s control.