The S&P 500 achieved a new record high, while Bitcoin briefly approached the $80,000 mark earlier on Saturday. The largest cryptocurrency traded at $78,180 during Asian hours, representing a 0.8% weekly increase, after recovering from a Wednesday low near $75,500 triggered by reports of increased military activity in Iran. The subsequent bounce coincided with news of a proposed ceasefire sent by Tehran to Washington via Pakistan, resulting in a nearly 3% decline in WTI crude prices 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 impressive earnings from tech giants.
The Nasdaq 100 also reached a record high, advancing 0.9%, as Apple gained 3.2% following a positive revenue outlook, and Oracle rose 6.5% after announcing its collaboration with the Pentagon's classified networks. A significant development in crypto policy emerged with the Senate's release of the long-awaited Clarity Act compromise text, which prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering yield-based products tied solely to reserve holdings but preserves reward programs based on platform activity. The agreement, negotiated by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, has been endorsed by Coinbase, with its Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, stating that the language protects activity-based rewards linked to genuine participation on crypto platforms. The Senate Banking Committee can now proceed with a markup, paving the way for the legislation to advance further.
The Treasury and CFTC will have a year to establish detailed rules for crypto firms after the bill becomes law. According to Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, Bitcoin's range-bound trading reflects broader macroeconomic uncertainty rather than crypto-specific weakness, citing ETF outflows and softer demand as symptoms.
Reis-Faria noted that institutions are not abandoning the market but are rather not increasing their exposure at present, suggesting that if money flows back in, particularly from institutions or through ETFs, Bitcoin could move higher quickly. Other major cryptocurrencies were mixed, with Ether, XRP, and Solana trading relatively flat, while Dogecoin stood out with a nearly 10% weekly increase to $0.105, accompanied by a year-high in futures open interest earlier in the week. The outlook for the next week remains unchanged, with Bitcoin requiring a fresh catalyst to break decisively above $78,000, and potential sources, including Fed clarity, ETF re-acceleration, or a Hormuz reopening, remaining outside the market's control.