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, marking a 0.8% weekly increase and recovering from a Wednesday low of $75,500, which was triggered by reports of fresh military escalation in Iran. The subsequent bounce coincided with news of Tehran's proposed ceasefire, relayed to Washington through Pakistan, resulting in a nearly 3% decline in WTI crude to approximately $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 earnings.
The Nasdaq 100 also reached a record high, advancing 0.9%, as Apple gained 3.2% following a positive revenue outlook and Oracle climbed 6.5% after joining the list of AI firms collaborating with the Pentagon's classified networks. A significant development in crypto policy was the Senate's release of the long-negotiated Clarity Act compromise text, which bans stablecoin issuers from offering yield-based products tied solely to holding reserves, while preserving reward programs linked to platform activity.
This agreement, negotiated by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, has garnered support from Coinbase, with its Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, stating that the language upholds activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms. The Senate Banking Committee can now proceed with a markup, paving the way for further advancement of the legislation in the Senate. The Treasury and CFTC will have a year to establish detailed rules governing crypto firms' yield products once the bill is enacted.
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 emphasized that institutions are not abandoning the market, but rather, are not increasing their exposure at present. If institutional investment returns, Bitcoin could experience a rapid surge.
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, however, stood out with a nearly 10% weekly gain to $0.105, as futures open interest reached a year-high earlier in the week.
The outlook for the upcoming week remains unchanged, 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.