Clarity Act advances in Senate Banking Vote; BTC tops $82K as HYPE jumps
The Clarity Act advanced out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 bipartisan vote. All Republicans supported it, while two Democrats—Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks—crossed the aisle. The bill now heads to the full Senate, where it needs 60 votes to pass, making near-term passage uncertain.
Traders reacted quickly after the Clarity Act vote. BTC briefly rallied toward $82,000, while prediction markets lifted passage odds to around 70% (about +8%). On the ecosystem side, Circle and Coinbase said Coinbase will serve as the official treasury deployer for USDC on Hyperliquid under AQAv2. That drove HYPE up roughly 20% on the day to about $47, with USDC becoming the main stablecoin across Hyperliquid markets.
Elsewhere, Kraken reportedly moved bridge infrastructure from LayerZero to Chainlink CCIP after the Kelp DAO exploit, and there was a report of a $10M+ cross-chain exploit affecting Thorchain. Overall market tone stayed cautious: BTC and ETH were green but choppy as macro conditions remained unstable. The Clarity Act’s next 60-vote Senate floor test remains the dominant trading catalyst, with some of the optimism already “priced in.”
Bullish
Bullish but time-sensitive. The Clarity Act clearing the Senate Banking Committee is a clear regulatory tailwind for crypto, and BTC’s quick move toward $82K plus the jump in prediction-market odds show traders are willing to price in progress. However, the bill still faces a 60-vote Senate floor hurdle, so rallies may fade if momentum stalls.
The HYPE/USDC reaction is a second, more concrete catalyst: Circle and Coinbase positioning USDC as the main stablecoin on Hyperliquid (via the AQAv2 treasury-deployer arrangement) can drive near-term volume and token demand. Meanwhile, the separate exploit/migration headlines (Kraken’s bridge migration and the Thorchain $10M+ report) add risk-off volatility, which can limit follow-through on BTC/ETH.
Net effect: positive for sentiment around U.S. crypto regulation and specific venue liquidity (Hyperliquid), but expect whipsaws as traders react to headlines, macro choppiness, and the still-uncertain next Clarity Act vote outcome.