Crypto market value tops $4 trillion as stablecoin bill passes
A sweeping U.S. legislative push to regulate the sector has traders and investors anticipating higher prices in the weeks ahead.
The total market value of crypto assets surged past $4 trillion for the first time, driven by a rally in altcoins and momentum from a sweeping U.S. legislative push to regulate the sector.
The options market shows traders are increasing bets for even higher prices in the weeks ahead.
“Bitcoin’s path to $150,000 looks increasingly inevitable,” said Fadi Aboualfa, head of research at Copper. The original cryptocurrency accounts for about 60% of the entire digital market’s value.
The milestone followed the passage on Thursday of the first-ever federal legislation for stablecoins, a key accomplishment during what lawmakers have dubbed “Crypto Week.” The bill, backed by Republicans and championed by President Donald Trump, introduces federal or state oversight of dollar-linked stablecoin, aiming to legitimize a $265 billion market that Citigroup Inc. analysts project could grow to $3.7 trillion by 2030.
The Genius Act, which passed in the House with bipartisan support, 308-122, following the Senate’s approval in June, is now ready to be signed into law by Trump, who has pledged to pursue a more lenient regulatory environment for crypto.
Thursday also saw the House pass a broader crypto market structure bill, which now awaits Senate consideration.
Altcoins — a catchall term for tokens besides Bitcoin — led the latest leg of the cryptocurrency rally, with Ether jumping 22% over the past five days. Bitcoin, the industry’s benchmark asset, hit a record $123,205 earlier this week. Uniswap surged as much as 24% on Friday, while Solana gained 6.5% at one point.
Investors have continued to flood into U.S.-listed crypto ETFs. Bitcoin funds have attracted $5.5 billion in inflows so far in July, while Ether ETFs brought in $2.9 billion.
“Since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs, we’ve seen a consistent pricing trend and the recent price surge is still in fact within the norms,” Aboualfa said. “If current inflows continue — even through the typically subdued summer period — we could see Bitcoin breach $140k by September, with a potential surge toward $150k in early October.”
The Washington Post contributed to this article.