Bitcoin Surpasses $81K as Senate Advances Bipartisan Clarity Act; XRP and Dogecoin Rally

Headline: XRP and Dogecoin rally as Bitcoin tops $81K after Senate Banking Committee advances Clarity Act Crypto markets pushed higher Friday despite a tough macro backdrop, with bitcoin reclaiming the $81,000 level after the U.S. Senate Banking Committee advanced the Clarity Act in a 15–9 bipartisan vote late Thursday. Market moves - Bitcoin traded around $81,055 in Asian hours, up about 2.3% over 24 hours and 1.9% over the past week, according to CoinDesk data. The move recovered levels lost after Wednesday’s producer price index print. - XRP led the majors, jumping roughly 4.5% to $1.49 and extending a seven-day gain to about 7.6%, the best performer on the weekly tape. - Dogecoin rose about 3% to $0.1159 and is up 8.9% over the past week. BNB climbed 2% to $681, and Solana gained 2% to $91. Why the rally: Clarity Act progress The Senate Banking Committee’s vote marked the first major bipartisan step on crypto market-structure legislation in months. Chairman Tim Scott engineered a late procedural maneuver to readmit amendments he’d earlier rejected, winning two Democratic votes and producing the 15–9 margin after hours of partisan debate. “This process has been one of the most informative and challenging processes I’ve been through as a United States senator,” Scott said after the vote, per CoinDesk. Committee ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren criticized the procedural change, saying it produced a deal she did not support. Next steps for the bill The Banking Committee’s version will now be merged with a similar bill previously approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee on a party-line vote. The combined legislation would then face full Senate consideration and a House vote. Key substantive issues remain unresolved, including law-enforcement concerns and an ethics provision some Democrats say is a condition for broader backing. Regulatory relief helps XRP XRP’s outperformance tracks directly to the regulatory clarity the bill aims to provide. Ripple and its token have been at the center of U.S. legal uncertainty since the SEC’s case against Ripple Labs; clearer market-structure rules would remove a major structural overhang on XRP’s addressable case. Renna Ba, head of ecosystem at Layer-2 network Morph, said the Clarity Act’s distinction between payment stablecoins and investment assets gives the global payments industry “the legal foundation it has needed to build with confidence.” Bigger picture for bitcoin and institutional flows CK Zheng, co-founder and CIO at ZX Squared Capital, argued the regulatory momentum reinforces a view that bitcoin’s bear-market low was likely set in Q1. The roughly 50% drawdown from peak values is “notably shallower than the ~78% decline seen during the 2022 cycle,” he said, suggesting bitcoin is becoming a more mature, less volatile asset. Zheng also highlighted a preferred-stock launch (Strategy’s STRC) that has attracted $8.5 billion of institutional interest at an 11.5% dividend yield, underscoring continued institutional appetite for crypto-linked strategies. Macro headwinds remain Crypto’s gains came despite several risk-on headwinds. President Trump’s comment that the U.S. does not need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz pushed Brent crude higher, stoking inflation worries. MSCI’s Asia Pacific equity index fell 1.1%, U.S. equity futures slipped about 0.2%, and the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose four basis points to 4.52%. Japan’s 10-year yield jumped as much as seven basis points after domestic producer prices rose at the fastest annual pace since 2023. The dollar also extended a five-day gain on haven demand. Bottom line The Clarity Act’s committee advance injected a fresh regulatory tailwind into crypto markets, helping bitcoin and several large altcoins recover lost ground even as macro concerns persist. The bill still faces several legislative hurdles and substantive negotiations, but the committee vote represents the most significant bipartisan movement on crypto policy in months—one that traders and institutions appear to be pricing into asset prices.