.png){kind=logo}
Bitcoin climbed above $80,000 on Friday as traders returned to risk assets after a volatile week in Washington. The rebound followed a failed Senate crypto vote, a Federal Reserve rate hike and fresh regulatory action.
Bitcoin traded at $80,860 at 17:19 UTC, according to CoinGecko, after rising about 5% on the day and 7% from Tuesday night’s low. The move took bitcoin above $80,000 for the first time since Sept. 7. The rebound also coincided with gains in major altcoins.
The Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act on Tuesday after a 49-50 cloture vote. The bill sought to create a federal market structure for digital assets. Bitcoin fell after the vote as traders reacted to the setback in Washington.
Pressure continued Wednesday when the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a 3.75% to 4% range. The increase marked the Fed’s first rate hike since July 2023. At the same time, spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $746 million in outflows across two sessions.
By Friday, the market had reversed much of that weakness. Nic Puckrin, founder of Coin Bureau, told Yahoo Finance that a break above resistance near $78,000 triggered short liquidations and helped push bitcoin toward $80,000. He added that the $80,000 to $82,000 area now carries stronger resistance.
Regulatory activity accelerated after the Senate vote. On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission released an innovation exemption for certain tokenized stock trading. The temporary framework allows qualifying blockchain venues to trade tokenized National Market System stocks under set conditions for five years.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also sent a rulemaking titled “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” to the White House for review. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs lists the filing under RIN 3038-AF80 and says it arrived on Sept. 17.
The filing remains at the “prerule” stage. That status means the public document would come before a formal proposal and could take the form of an advance notice or request for comment.
Dan Morehead, founder and managing partner of Pantera Capital, argued on CNBC that the SEC and CFTC can apply existing authority even without the Clarity Act.
Read More: Corporate Bitcoin Buying Slows Sharply as Treasury Demand Fades
Alex Cutler, co-founder of Aerodrome, also pointed to regulators’ use of existing laws. He said the SEC and CFTC now interpret current statutes in ways that can support onchain activity while Congress continues debating broader legislation.
Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Leary Ventures, said that he does not expect the Clarity Act to pass before the midterm elections. He said lawmakers working on digital-asset tax policy could bring regulation back into the debate. Polymarket traders placed the chance of the act becoming law this year at 8% on Friday, up from 4.6% after the vote.
The House Financial Services Committee also advanced legislation tied to a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The measure would keep U.S. government-held bitcoin in a federal reserve for at least 20 years and require regular audits. The bill still needs approval from the full House and Senate.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto market moved higher with bitcoin. Solana gained about 10%, while Hyperliquid’s HYPE token reached a record $92.56. Bitcoin traded above $81,000 at one point Friday as derivatives traders held heavy call-option exposure and the market recovered from losses earlier in the week.
Bitcoin’s move above $80,000 followed a turbulent week marked by the Clarity Act’s Senate setback, a Fed rate hike and new SEC and CFTC actions. Regulatory work continued through federal agencies while a separate House bill on the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve advanced, keeping policy developments central to crypto markets.
