Bitcoin above $78,000 as Senate clears Clarity Act yield hurdle, S&P 500 sets new record

The S&P 500 just closed at another record high while bitcoin made another run to the $80,000 level earlier Saturday.

The largest crypto traded at $78,180 in Asian hours Saturday, up 0.8% on the week and recovering from a Wednesday low near $75,500 that came on the back of fresh Iran military escalation reports. The bounce arrived alongside Friday's reports that Tehran had relayed a new ceasefire proposal to Washington through Pakistan, which sent WTI crude falling nearly 3% to around $102 a barrel.

Equities had a much better week. The S&P 500 closed 0.3% higher Friday at an all-time high, marking a fifth straight weekly gain on the back of strong tech mega-cap earnings.

The Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.9% to its own record. Apple gained 3.2% after a better-than-expected revenue outlook. Oracle climbed 6.5% on news it had joined the list of AI firms working with the Pentagon's classified networks.

A big crypto development was on the policy side.

The Senate released the long-negotiated Clarity Act compromise text Friday, ending months of negotiations between crypto firms and bank lobbyists. The agreement, hashed out by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, would ban stablecoin issuers from offering yield based purely on holding reserves but preserves activity-based reward programs that crypto firms structure as incentives for using their platforms.

Coinbase, which had been at the center of the talks, signaled support immediately, with Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stating the language "preserves activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms and networks, which is what the bank lobby said they wanted."

A markup, the Senate Banking Committee hearing where the bill gets formally debated and amended, can now proceed and clears the way for the legislation to advance further in the Senate. Treasury and the CFTC would have a year after the bill becomes law to write the detailed rules around what crypto firms can and cannot do with yield products.

Meanwhile, Daniel Reis-Faria, CEO of ZeroStack, said in a note that bitcoin's range-bound trading reflects broader macro indecision rather than crypto-specific weakness.

"Bitcoin staying below the $78,000 mark isn't really about crypto right now, it's about what's happening in the broader market. The Fed holding rates wasn't a surprise, but there is no clear direction on what comes next, and that's keeping investors from stepping in."

Reis-Faria pointed to ETF outflows and softer demand as the symptoms. "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."