Bitcoin jumped 5.7% Friday, pushing its rebound through two events that normally hurt risky assets. The rally survived the Senate’s rejection of the Clarity Act and the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate increase in more than three years.
Crypto stocks moved even faster. Coinbase Global led the S&P 500, while Strategy and Robinhood Markets gained as the rebound spread from token holders to trading platforms with heavy digital-asset exposure.
Ethereum also joined the move. The second-largest cryptocurrency rose 5.9%, lifting shares across the crypto and blockchain sector.
Traders had already priced in bad news
The Clarity Act’s defeat caused less damage because traders had already accepted that the bill was unlikely to pass in 2026. The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission still plan to write crypto rules even without new legislation.
Traders were also prepared for tighter monetary policy after rate increases from the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan.
Higher borrowing costs remain a threat. They can make non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin and gold less attractive.
Bitcoin fell to a near four-week low after the Senate rejected the crypto-friendly bill Tuesday. It then reversed course and climbed above $78K in early European trading Friday.
A rebound in tech stocks helped lift risk assets, with broad gains across chip makers and data-storage companies.
Tokenized stocks added a regulatory spark
The SEC separately introduced a five-year exemption allowing certain platforms to facilitate trading in tokenized stocks.
That framework covers blockchain-based versions of publicly traded securities and helped extend gains across crypto-linked equities.
Approved venues must give investors rights comparable to traditional shares, including voting and dividend benefits, under the temporary relief.
Platforms must also notify the underlying issuer before listing a tokenized security and halt trading if the matching stock is suspended. The exemption is scheduled to last five years while regulators gather public feedback.
The Clarity Act’s collapse still leaves crypto without a clear policy framework. Friday’s rebound shows traders can look past that uncertainty when rate shocks are already priced in and regulators keep moving.
