Clarity Act Advances as Strategy Buys Bitcoin and Warsh Takes Fed Helm
The cryptocurrency industry scored a significant legislative victory Thursday when the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a bipartisan 15-9 vote. CNBC reported that the bill is the top legislative priority of the crypto industry, as it would add predictable oversight and guardrails to the sector. Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland joined all Republicans on the panel to push the measure forward, with committee chair Tim Scott calling it a necessary step to end years of regulatory uncertainty. The bill would assign digital commodities to the CFTC and digital securities to the SEC, though it still faces significant opposition from banks, labor unions, and law enforcement groups before it can reach President Trump's desk.
The legislative momentum sent crypto markets higher, with Bitcoin surging above $82,000 and XRP and Dogecoin each gaining roughly 5% in early Friday trading. Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, capitalized on the market activity in its own way. CoinDesk reported that the firm's STRC preferred stock logged a record $1.5 billion in single-day trading volume ahead of its ex-dividend date, with the proceeds used to fund a purchase of 11,707 BTC. The move underscored how Bitcoin treasury firms are increasingly tapping equity and credit markets to accumulate more coins, with sister security SATA separately structured to become the first U.S.-listed security to pay cash dividends every business day beginning June 16.
Powell Out, Warsh In: A New Chapter for Bitcoin and the Fed
Friday also marks a pivotal transition at the Federal Reserve, as Jerome Powell's term officially ends and Kevin Warsh steps in as chair. Blockchain Reporter noted that BTC has been trading near $80,832 this week, having climbed to a high of $82,000 on May 11 before selling off on a hot CPI reading of 3.8% and uncertainty surrounding the leadership change. Warsh's arrival is unusual in one notable respect: he disclosed personal cryptocurrency holdings of more than $100 million, including Solana, dYdX, and a stake in Bitcoin Lightning's Flashnet, and has publicly called Bitcoin a sustainable store of value.
Historical precedent gives some traders pause. Every prior Fed Chair transition has coincided with a major Bitcoin drawdown, averaging 82.37% across three separate instances. However, analysts argue that Warsh's crypto-friendly positioning represents a condition that has never before existed at the start of a Fed Chair's tenure. Treasury yields have climbed to their highest levels since mid-2025, with futures markets now assigning more than a 44% probability to a rate hike by December, adding a macro headwind that Bitcoin bulls will need to navigate in the weeks ahead.