Crypto markets gain as optimism over US crypto bill revives risk appetite

Washington did something unusual on a weekend: it gave crypto markets a reason to be cheerful. Senate Republicans dropped a revised version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Saturday, and by Monday morning, traders were already bidding up everything from Bitcoin to Coinbase stock. Bitcoin climbed to intraday highs between $78,000 and $80,000, a gain of roughly 1.8%. Coinbase shares surged as much as 8%, while Circle tacked on 6.4%. Ether joined the rally too. The catalyst wasn’t a halving event or an ETF approval. It was a 635-page legislative document, which in crypto terms might be the least sexy bullish signal imaginable. What changed in the bill The updated Clarity Act incorporated 126 substantive amendments, many of them requested by Democrats who had previously balked at supporting the legislation. The core addition: robust ethics provisions designed to address conflicts of interest involving federal officials and their digital asset holdings. Those provisions include requirements for divestiture or the use of blind trusts when officials hold significant crypto positions. Enforcement authority falls to state attorneys general, a structural choice that gives the rules...