Bitcoin surges past $67,000 as U.S. crypto bill nears Senate vote
Bitcoin jumped 15% in two weeks to top $67,000 on Monday, its highest since early June, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Clarity Act is now at the “1-yard line.”
Source: Forbes · July 21, 2026 at 6:22 PM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceKUALA LUMPUR, 22 JULY 2026 —
Bitcoin jumped 15% in two weeks to top $67,000 on Monday, its highest since early June, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Clarity Act is now at the “1-yard line.”
Market Impact
The bill, which would split U.S. crypto oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, lifted prediction-market odds of passage before April 2025 to 61% from 33% last week, according to Kalshi data reported by The Block. Traders cite President Trump’s surprise agreement to an ethics clause barring federal officials from issuing cryptocurrencies and giving enforcement to the Justice Department.
“We are now hearing Trump has agreed to an ethics provision,” an anonymous source told The Block. Democrats, however, have not seen the text and may object if they judge it inadequate, Bloomberg noted.
Bitcoin last traded at $67,000, up from a low of about $58,000 two weeks ago and roughly 50% below its October 2024 all-time high of $126,000. The move follows BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink’s bullish remarks and a Bloomberg report that the bill’s passage is imminent.
Passage would, for the first time, give Wall Street formal access to the crypto market, according to analysts quoted by Bloomberg. The act would assign spot-bitcoin ETFs and major trading venues to the CFTC while stablecoins and lending would fall under the SEC, creating the first comprehensive U.S. framework.
The bill must reconcile Senate Banking and Agriculture Committee versions and address Democratic demands on stablecoin rules and anti-money-laundering controls before the August recess, Bitfire Research said in a note. Missing the recess would push the effort into the post-midterm “lame duck” period, where prospects are far less certain.
White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said he has deferred military training to remain in Washington for the bill’s final push. “I will be able to see this effort through to the end,” he wrote on X.
Yet some remain cautious about the sustainability of the rally. Robin Singh, chief executive of crypto-tax platform Koinly, said bitcoin is unlikely to set new records in 2025 without additional catalysts. “A move into the low $70,000s looks more likely, but without a major catalyst, that rally could quickly lose momentum,” he wrote in emailed comments.
CK Zheng, a former Credit Suisse risk head who runs crypto hedge fund ZX Squared Capital, argued that large institutions are waiting for regulatory clarity. “The formal passage of the Clarity Act into law will be the ultimate catalyst, sparking a new bull market,” he said.
The surge has lifted the broader crypto market: ether gained 8% over the same two-week window, while the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index rose 11%. Trading volumes on major U.S. exchanges rose 23% week-on-week, according to data cited by Bloomberg.
Analysts at Bitwise Asset Management warned that a sudden regulatory breakthrough can create “whipsaw” moves. “The market tends to price in the probability of passage weeks before the vote, so the actual bill signing may trigger profit-taking,” they wrote in a client note.
With the bill still unpublished in full text and Democrats requesting further concessions, the next 10 days are critical. Bessent told Bloomberg the bill is “at the 1-yard line,” but added that the text must still clear procedural hurdles.