Bitcoin Holds Near $65,000 as Markets Watch the CLARITY Act
Bitcoin traded steadily on Thursday, remaining close to its recent five-week high as investors assessed fresh developments surrounding the U.S. CLARITY Act.
However, escalating tensions in the Middle East continued to limit the cryptocurrency market’s recovery.
Bitcoin declined by around 0.3% to $65,732 in early trading. Despite the modest fall, the world’s largest cryptocurrency remained well above its recent yearly lows following a strong rebound earlier in the week.
Middle East Conflict Limits Bitcoin’s Recovery
Bitcoin’s upward momentum slowed as the conflict between the United States and Iran intensified.
The two countries exchanged strikes for a twelfth consecutive day. Meanwhile, attacks involving Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement raised concerns about a potential expansion of the conflict in the Red Sea.
Geopolitical uncertainty often reduces investor demand for riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies. As a result, traders remained cautious despite Bitcoin’s recent recovery.
New CLARITY Act Draft Circulates in Washington
A revised draft of the CLARITY Act circulated among lawmakers in Washington on Wednesday.
Supporters described the development as another step toward a final Senate vote on the long-delayed cryptocurrency market structure bill.
The legislation is designed to establish clearer regulatory responsibilities for digital assets in the United States.
Draft Introduces Crypto Ethics Rules
The latest draft included a provision intended to prevent the U.S. president and other senior government officials from holding cryptocurrency interests that could create conflicts of interest.
However, the proposed restriction would expire in 2029. Regulators would also receive one year to introduce the necessary rules.
The ethics language followed negotiations between Republican senators and President Donald Trump.
A White House official described the compromise as an unusually broad ethics provision for elected officials involved in cryptocurrency markets.
Trump’s Crypto Earnings Draw Scrutiny
The ethics debate gained attention after Trump’s financial disclosures reportedly showed that he earned more than $1 billion from cryptocurrency-related interests during the previous year.
Democratic lawmakers cited the figure as evidence that stronger safeguards were needed to address possible conflicts connected to the White House.
The issue had become one of the major obstacles delaying bipartisan support for the legislation.
Bill Protects Non-Custodial Blockchain Developers
The revised CLARITY Act retained the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.
Under this provision, software developers who do not control customer assets would generally not be classified as money transmitters.
The draft also introduced additional language covering federal regulatory authority, provisional registration requirements and commodity pool operators.
These measures are intended to clarify how cryptocurrency companies and developers should operate under U.S. law.
Stablecoin Disagreements Previously Delayed Progress
The CLARITY Act is considered an important part of the United States’ efforts to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
However, progress had largely stalled during the previous year because lawmakers disagreed over how the bill should treat stablecoins and divide regulatory responsibilities.
The latest compromise could improve the legislation’s chances of advancing, although further negotiations may still be required.
Altcoins Trade in a Narrow Range
The broader cryptocurrency market recorded limited movement alongside Bitcoin.
Ether gained approximately 0.4% to trade near $1,922, while XRP rose by around 0.3%.
Solana advanced by 0.4%, while Cardano gained 1.6%. BNB also moved approximately 0.3% higher.
Among major memecoins, Dogecoin increased by around 0.3%, while the TRUMP token gained approximately 1.9%.
Crypto Traders Await Regulatory Clarity
Bitcoin remained close to $65,000 as traders balanced encouraging regulatory developments against growing geopolitical risks.
Further progress on the CLARITY Act could improve confidence in the U.S. cryptocurrency industry. However, continued instability in the Middle East may keep Bitcoin and other digital assets under pressure in the near term.
