The S&P 500 achieved a new record high, while Bitcoin briefly approached the $80,000 mark earlier on Saturday. In Asian trading hours on Saturday, the largest cryptocurrency was valued at $78,180, representing a 0.8% weekly increase and a recovery from a Wednesday low of approximately $75,500, which was triggered by reports of heightened military tensions in Iran.
The rebound coincided with Friday's 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. The equity market experienced a more successful week, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher on Friday, marking its fifth consecutive weekly gain, driven by strong earnings from tech giants. The Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.9% to reach a new record, with Apple's stock rising 3.2% following a better-than-expected revenue forecast. Oracle's stock surged 6.5% after announcing its collaboration with the Pentagon's classified networks.
A significant development in the crypto space was the policy agreement reached by the Senate. On Friday, the Senate released the long-awaited Clarity Act compromise, ending months of negotiations between crypto firms and banking lobbyists. The agreement, negotiated by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering yield purely based on reserve holdings but allows activity-based reward programs that crypto firms use as incentives for platform usage. Coinbase, a central party 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 and networks, which is what the bank lobby wanted.' 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.
The Treasury and CFTC will have one year after the bill becomes law to establish detailed rules governing what crypto firms can and cannot do with yield products. Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, noted that Bitcoin's range-bound trading reflects broader macroeconomic 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 flowing back in, especially from institutions or through ETFs, Bitcoin can move higher quickly.' Other major cryptocurrencies were mixed, with Ether trading at $2,310, XRP at $1.39, and Solana at $84.57, all relatively flat for the week. Dogecoin stood out, gaining nearly 10% for the week to $0.105, with futures open interest reaching a year-high earlier in the week.
The outlook heading into the next week remains unchanged from the previous month. Bitcoin requires a new catalyst to break decisively above $78,000, and the most likely sources – Fed clarity, ETF re-acceleration, or a Hormuz reopening – are outside the market's control.