The crypto market attempted to break the market cap over $4 trillion for the first time. At the same time, broader markets saw severe headwinds following Congress’s passage of sweeping digital asset legislation. This milestone represents a combination of increasing investor confidence and the ongoing mainstreaming of cryptocurrencies into our financial system.
On Thursday, the House moved three pieces of crypto legislation forward, establishing a clearer regulatory path for digital assets. One of the proposed bills would put more regulations around stablecoins. These are cryptocurrencies tied to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar and they have the potential to introduce greater stability and confidence into the crypto marketplace.
Many crypto-related companies saw a boost in their stock prices amid Friday morning trading. The U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase reached an all-time high this morning. Its stock on Thursday soared about 6%, hitting a record high of $444 when the markets opened.
Shares of Robinhood, the online brokerage widely used for crypto trading, soared to an all-time high. It had jumped up by 4% daily to just under $113. These gains surely mirror the sentiment around the positive progress of the crypto industry after these legislative advances.
President Donald Trump signed the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, also known as the Genius Act, into law on Friday afternoon.
"We worked hard. It's a very important act, the Genius Act. They named it after me." - Donald Trump
White House spokesperson Kush Desai declined to comment on the report.
Though the crypto market was making some big strides forward, traditional stock indices were much more cautious. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at all-time highs on Thursday. The S&P 500 finished the day nearly unchanged, but gained nearly three-quarters of a percent for the week.
Crypto dipped later in the day, closing Friday up 2.2%.
