The S&P 500 achieved a new record high, while Bitcoin made a significant push towards the $80,000 mark earlier on Saturday. As of Asian hours on Saturday, the largest cryptocurrency traded at $78,180, marking a 0.8% weekly increase and a recovery from Wednesday's low of approximately $75,500, which was triggered by reports of heightened military tensions in Iran.
The subsequent bounce coincided with reports that Tehran had proposed a new ceasefire to Washington via Pakistan, resulting in a nearly 3% decline in WTI crude to around $102 per barrel. The equities market experienced a more successful week, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher on Friday to achieve an all-time high, marking its fifth consecutive weekly gain driven by strong earnings from tech mega-caps.
The Nasdaq 100 also advanced 0.9% to reach a new record, with Apple gaining 3.2% following a better-than-expected revenue outlook and Oracle climbing 6.5% after announcing its collaboration with the Pentagon's classified networks on AI projects. A significant development in the crypto space was the release of the long-negotiated Clarity Act compromise text by the Senate, which concluded months of negotiations between crypto firms and banking lobbyists.
The agreement, facilitated by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering yield purely based on reserve holdings but preserves reward programs tied to platform activity, which crypto firms use as incentives for participation. Coinbase, a key player in the negotiations, expressed support for the agreement, with Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stating that the language preserves activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms, aligning with the bank lobby's demands. The Senate Banking Committee can now proceed with a markup, the formal debate and amendment of the bill, paving the way for the legislation to advance further in the Senate. Upon the bill becoming law, the Treasury and the CFTC will have a year to establish detailed rules governing what crypto firms can and cannot do with yield products.
According to Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, Bitcoin's range-bound trading reflects broader macroeconomic uncertainty rather than crypto-specific weakness. Reis-Faria pointed to ETF outflows and softer demand as symptoms, noting that it does not indicate institutions are leaving the market but rather that they are not increasing their exposure at present. He believes that if money starts flowing back into the market, 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 relatively flat for the week.
Dogecoin stood out with a nearly 10% weekly gain to $0.105, accompanied by futures open interest reaching a year-high earlier in the week. The setup heading into the next week remains unchanged from the past month, with Bitcoin requiring a new 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.