Bitcoin tops $67K as CLARITY Act progress sparks rally

On Tuesday, Bitcoin briefly rose above $67,000 and Ether approached $1,950. Crypto-related stocks also jumped: Coinbase rose about 12%, American Bitcoin gained 14% and Cipher Digital climbed 17%.

The moves followed remarks from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said lawmakers were at the ‘1-yard line’ on the CLARITY Act. The proposed law would define whether the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversees certain crypto products.

Market participants described reduced regulatory uncertainty and a pullback in AI-focused stocks as factors that encouraged some capital to return to digital assets.

AI-linked equities had dominated speculative interest. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a benchmark for chipmakers that supply AI infrastructure, rose roughly 110% over the past year but recently fell more than 20% from its peak and entered technical bear market territory.

Stephane Ouellette, CEO of FRNT Financial, noted that Bitcoin sat at the top of its recent range and that a slowdown in the AI trade could raise the likelihood of a breakout.

Traders view interest-rate expectations as an important variable for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Signs of rate stability could influence flows back into risk-tolerant assets.

Market participants are watching legislative developments in Washington and the near-term performance of AI-linked stocks for signals on whether recent gains in crypto will continue.