The S&P 500 achieved another record high, while Bitcoin made a notable attempt to reach the $80,000 mark earlier on Saturday. Trading at $78,180 during Asian hours, Bitcoin saw a 0.8% weekly increase, recovering from a Wednesday low near $75,500 that was triggered by reports of heightened military tensions in Iran.
The recovery coincided with news of a potential ceasefire proposal from Tehran to Washington via Pakistan, leading to a nearly 3% drop in WTI crude to around $102 per barrel. Equities experienced a strong week, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher on Friday to set an all-time high, marking its fifth consecutive weekly gain driven by robust earnings from tech giants. The Nasdaq 100 also advanced 0.9% to a record high, with Apple and Oracle seeing significant gains. A significant development in the crypto space was the Senate's release of the long-awaited Clarity Act compromise, which bans stablecoin issuers from offering yield purely based on holding reserves but allows activity-based reward programs.
This move paves the way for the legislation to progress further in the Senate, with a markup scheduled for the Senate Banking Committee hearing. The Treasury and CFTC will have a year to establish detailed rules for crypto firms' yield products once the bill becomes law. According to Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, Bitcoin's range-bound trading reflects broader macro uncertainty rather than crypto-specific weakness, citing ETF outflows and softer demand as symptoms. Reis-Faria noted that institutions are not leaving the market but are instead choosing not to increase their exposure at present.
Other major cryptocurrencies showed mixed results, with Ether, XRP, and Solana remaining relatively flat, while Dogecoin saw a notable 10% weekly increase to $0.105, driven by a year-high in futures open interest earlier in the week. Looking ahead, the setup for the next week remains unchanged, with Bitcoin requiring a fresh catalyst to break decisively above $78,000, and potential sources such as Fed clarity, ETF re-acceleration, or a Hormuz reopening remaining outside the market's control.