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Bitcoin is trading at its highest levels since June thanks largely to a last-ditch push from the White House and crypto industry leaders to get the Clarity Act across the finish line in the coming weeks.
The price of bitcoin rose more than 5% on Thursday to just below $72,000 and its highest level since June 1. The move brings its two-day gain to more than 11%. Earlier this week, it traded at the $63,000 level.
Crypto stocks followed suit, with Coinbase and Circle up around 6% each and Strategy jumping more than 9% in premarket trading Thursday, building on their rallies from the prior session.
Bitcoin (BTC) this week
The rally began Wednesday when Treasury yields pulled back sharply, easing pressure on risk assets. That helped trigger a broader move into crypto that was later amplified by a massive short squeeze, with roughly $2.7 billion in crypto short positions liquidated, according to CoinGlass.
On the same day, the White House hosted the CEOs of leading crypto companies – including Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, Ripple and ChainLink – at a last-minute event in which President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass “a fair version” of the crypto market structure bill known as the Clarity Act before the end of the year. The meeting came in advance of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s inaugural Innovation Advisory Committee meeting taking place Thursday.
“We need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act – a fair version of the Clarity Act,” Trump said in opening remarks. “It’s a very, very powerful structured legislation which will keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else, will open the door to the next wave of innovations and innovators.”
Trump’s call for a “fair version” reflects the sticking point with Democrats, who have pushed for tougher ethics rules that would prevent the president and other public officials from personally profiting from crypto, while Republicans have resisted provisions they view as overly targeted or restrictive.
The Clarity Act is widely viewed as a key catalyst that could push the market out of the crypto winter that began last fall. Investors had started to view the bill as effectively dead for 2026 after the Senate left for its August recess without a vote, and with negotiations still hung up over the ethics provision and other differences between Republicans and Democrats.
Failure to clear a key hurdle, the Senate’s first procedural vote on Sept. 15, could effectively end the bill’s chances this year as other priorities steal focus heading into the midterm elections.
Bitcoin is still trading about 43% off its October 2025 high of about $126,000.
