The S&P 500 achieved a new record high, while bitcoin made a notable attempt to reach the $80,000 mark earlier on Saturday. The largest cryptocurrency traded at $78,180 during Asian hours on Saturday, marking a 0.8% increase over the week and recovering from a Wednesday low near $75,500, which was triggered by reports of fresh military escalation in Iran. The rebound coincided with Friday's reports that Tehran had proposed a new ceasefire to Washington through Pakistan, resulting in a nearly 3% drop in WTI crude to around $102 per barrel.
Equities experienced a stronger week, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher on Friday at an all-time high, marking its fifth consecutive weekly gain, driven by robust earnings from tech mega-caps. The Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.9% to a record high, with Apple gaining 3.2% after exceeding revenue expectations and Oracle climbing 6.5% following news of its collaboration with the Pentagon's classified networks on AI projects.
A significant development in the crypto sector was the release of the long-negotiated Clarity Act compromise text by the Senate on Friday, which concluded months of negotiations between cryptocurrency firms and bank lobbyists. The agreement, reached by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering yield solely based on holding reserves but preserves reward programs tied to platform activity, which crypto firms use as incentives for platform usage. Coinbase, a key player in the talks, expressed support for the language, with Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stating that it "preserves activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms and networks, aligning with the bank lobby's demands." The Senate Banking Committee can now proceed with a markup, formally debating and amending the bill, paving the way for the legislation to advance further in the Senate.
The Treasury and CFTC will have a year after the bill becomes law to establish detailed rules governing what cryptocurrency firms can and cannot do with yield products. Meanwhile, Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, noted that bitcoin's range-bound trading reflects broader macro uncertainty rather than crypto-specific weakness, citing ETF outflows and softer demand as symptoms. Reis-Faria pointed out that this does not indicate institutions are leaving the market but rather that they are not increasing their exposure at present.
If funds start flowing back in, especially from institutions or through ETFs, bitcoin can move higher quickly. Other major cryptocurrencies were mixed, with Ether holding at $2,310, XRP at $1.39, and Solana at $84.57, all close to flat for the week. Dogecoin stood out, gaining nearly 10% over the week to $0.105, with futures open interest reaching a year-high earlier in the week.
The setup heading into the next week remains the same as it has been all month, with bitcoin requiring a fresh catalyst to break decisively above $78,000, and the most likely sources – Fed clarity, ETF re-acceleration, or a Hormuz reopening – lying outside the market's control.