The S&P 500 closed at a record high, while bitcoin briefly approached the $80,000 mark earlier on Saturday. The largest cryptocurrency traded at $78,180 in Asian hours, posting a 0.8% weekly gain and recovering from a Wednesday low of $75,500, which was triggered by reports of fresh Iran military escalation. The recovery coincided with news that Tehran had proposed a new ceasefire to Washington through Pakistan, resulting in a nearly 3% decline in WTI crude to around $102 per barrel. Equities experienced a strong 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 a new record, with Apple gaining 3.2% after exceeding revenue expectations and Oracle climbing 6.5% on news of 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 ended months of negotiations between crypto firms and bank lobbyists. The agreement, negotiated 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 expressed support for the language, with its Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, stating that it "preserves activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms and networks, which is what the bank lobby said they wanted." The markup, a Senate Banking Committee hearing where the bill will be formally debated and amended, can now proceed, paving the way for the legislation to advance further in the Senate.
The Treasury and the CFTC will have a year after the bill becomes law to establish detailed rules governing what crypto 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.
Reis-Faria cited ETF outflows and softer demand as symptoms, stating, "It doesn't mean institutions are leaving the market, it just means they're not increasing their exposure right now. If money starts coming back in, especially from institutions or through ETFs, Bitcoin can move higher pretty quickly." Other major cryptocurrencies were mixed, with Ether holding at $2,310, XRP at $1.39, and Solana at $84.57, all relatively flat on the week.
Dogecoin stood out, gaining nearly 10% on the week to $0.105, with futures open interest reaching a year-high earlier in the week. The setup heading into 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.