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Up and away
A record-breaking rally for bitcoin (BTC-USD) has been seen in recent weeks, months, and over the past year as a whole. The world's most popular cryptocurrency just zoomed past the $120,000 milestone, doubling in value since July 2024. While bitcoin dipped overnight on some profit taking, optimism appears to remain intact ahead of a big week for crypto.
The latest: Fresh highs have been notched as corporate treasuries ramp up bitcoin purchases and spot exchange-traded funds garner record inflows. However, the biggest catalyst has been U.S. lawmakers moving closer to passing long-awaited crypto legislation. That will set the stage for digital assets to be subject to clearer rules and potentially result in wider acceptance across traditional finance.
Three bills are under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives this week that, if approved, would mark a huge win for the crypto space:
1) The GENIUS Act, which the Senate recently passed, would establish federal oversight of stablecoin issuers, requiring them to meet reserve, audit and registration standards under a new regulatory framework.
2) The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would seek to clarify when cryptos are treated as securities or commodities, splitting oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and setting rules for token issuers and trading platforms.
3) The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act would block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency.
SA commentary: "Even after bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) huge run, I still think there's a lot more gas in the tank," writes SA analyst Motti Sapir. "The market still isn't seeing the full picture, and there's a real shot for bitcoin to punch past $150,000 if even a few things break right. Sure, we might get a pullback, and yeah, there's always noise, but I don’t see a better asymmetric bet out there right now."
Timeline of bitcoin's moves over the past year
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Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.5%. Hong Kong +1.6%. China -0.4%. India +0.4%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.1%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt +0.2%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow -0.2%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.6%. Crude -0.7% to $66.52. Gold +0.4% to $3371.80. Bitcoin -4% to $116,987.
Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 4.42%
On The Calendar
Companies reporting today include JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC).
See the full earnings calendar on Seeking Alpha, as well as today's economic calendar.
