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 was trading at $78,180 during Asian hours, marking a 0.8% increase over the week and recovering from a low of $75,500 on Wednesday, which was sparked by reports of fresh military escalation in Iran. The rebound coincided with Friday's reports of a new ceasefire proposal from Tehran to Washington via Pakistan, resulting in a nearly 3% decline in WTI crude to approximately $102 per barrel.
Equities experienced a stronger week, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher on Friday, marking its fifth consecutive weekly gain, driven by robust tech mega-cap earnings. The Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.9% to set 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. A significant development in the crypto space was the release of the long-negotiated Clarity Act compromise text by the Senate, which puts an end to months of negotiations between crypto firms and bank lobbyists.
The agreement, brokered by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering yield solely based on holding reserves but preserves reward programs tied to actual participation on crypto platforms. Coinbase, a key player in the negotiations, expressed support for the language, stating that it preserves activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms and networks.
The Senate Banking Committee can now proceed with a markup, paving the way for the legislation to advance further in the Senate. The Treasury and the CFTC will have a year to establish detailed rules for crypto firms regarding yield products once the bill becomes law. Meanwhile, Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, noted that bitcoin's range-bound trading reflects broader macro uncertainty rather than crypto-specific weakness, pointing to ETF outflows and softer demand as symptoms.
Reis-Faria emphasized that this does not signify institutions' exit from the market but rather a temporary pause in increasing their exposure. If institutional investment returns, particularly through ETFs, bitcoin can rapidly move higher. Other major cryptocurrencies were mixed, with Ether holding at $2,310, XRP at $1.39, and Solana at $84.57, all relatively flat over 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 unchanged, with bitcoin requiring a fresh catalyst to break decisively above $78,000, and the most likely sources, including Fed clarity, ETF re-acceleration, or a Hormuz reopening, remain outside the market's control.