The crypto sector experienced a significant upswing on Monday, driven by Circle and Coinbase, as progress on US digital asset regulation and bitcoin's breach of the $80,000 threshold boosted market sentiment. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, saw its stock rise by 18%, while Coinbase, a US-focused crypto exchange, increased by approximately 7%. Other notable gainers included BitGo, a digital asset infrastructure firm, which climbed around 10%, and Strategy, the largest corporate bitcoin holder, which rose by 3-4% along with crypto-friendly digital broker Robinhood and Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine.
The rally was fueled by bitcoin's push above $80,000, its highest level since late January, and the CoinDesk 20 Index's 1.2% gain. The recent compromise on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would regulate crypto markets, has also contributed to investor optimism.
The proposed legislation would prohibit stablecoin issuers from offering yield on idle balances but permit rewards tied to usage and transaction activity, addressing a key point of contention. According to Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, this clarification brings the bill closer to passage, with the odds of passage rising to 64% on the prediction platform Polymarket. As a result, equity markets are beginning to price in potential winners, with Circle, a regulated stablecoin issuer, poised to benefit from clearer rules and potentially positioning stablecoins as payment tools rather than yield-bearing assets.