Investing.com– jumped on Friday, extending recent gains and hitting a one-week high as hopes of more crypto-friendly regulation in the U.S. helped markets firm past continued concerns over the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
The world’s largest crypto was also headed for a weekly gain, with a recent stalling in oil’s rally offering some support.
Bitcoin rose nearly 5% to $72,922 by 10:46 ET (14:46 GMT).
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Bitcoin heads for weekly gains on regulatory cheer
Bitcoin was set to add about 10% this week, with the world’s largest crypto outpacing broader risk-driven markets despite headwinds from the Iran war.
Gains in the crypto came chiefly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Wednesday they will collaborate to establish a more comprehensive regulatory framework for U.S. markets.
Under the agreement, the two agencies signaled they will work together to provide a federal policy that entails a “fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets and other emerging technologies.”
Called the “Joint Harmonization Initiative,” the agreement aims to create formal data-sharing protocols, streamline reporting requirements, and end separate crypto enforcement actions by the CFTC and SEC.
While the agreement is non-binding, the announcement helped shore up optimism for a more comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto.
The deal is largely in line with U.S. President Donald Trump’s promises to offer more regulatory clarity for the crypto industry, with Trump having stacked both the CFTC and the SEC with pro-crypto leadership.
Iran war jitters persist, risk appetite remains weak
Still, Bitcoin’s recovery appeared tenuous, given that the crypto has been subject to wild price swings since a series of flash crashes in late-2025.
Broader risk appetite also remained largely dampened, with equity markets seeing heavy selloffs as investors fretted over the impact of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
The war’s inflationary impact was a key concern, given that prolonged disruptions in oil markets could further drive up crude prices and underpin global inflation. This in turn is expected to elicit a more hawkish stance from major central banks– a scenario that bodes poorly for crypto and speculative assets.
PCE inflation rises 0.3% in January, largely in line with forecasts
January inflation data broadly matched expectations but continued to run above levels the Federal Reserve would prefer.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.3% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, bringing the annual rate to 2.8%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a 0.3% monthly increase and a 2.9% year-over-year reading.
Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, climbed 0.4% in the month and was up 3.1% from a year earlier. Policymakers tend to focus more closely on the core measure as a clearer signal of underlying inflation trends. The monthly increase was 0.1 percentage point higher than in December.
The Fed monitors the PCE index closely because it captures a broader range of spending than the consumer price index and reflects shifts in consumer behavior.
Earlier in the week, the Labor Department reported that headline CPI for February came in at 2.4% annually, while core CPI was 2.5% — the lowest level since March 2021, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target.
The central bank is set to announce its next interest-rate decision on Wednesday. Markets currently see an almost 100% odds that the Federal Open Market Committee will leave rates unchanged.
Crypto price today: altcoins rise tracking Bitcoin; soars 45%
Broader crypto prices advanced tracking Bitcoin on Friday.
World no.2 crypto Ether rose about 6% to $2,170.43, while rose 4.3% to $1.43.
, Cardano, and advanced between 3.5% and 7%.
Among memecoins, jumped 5%, while $TRUMP surged more than 44%. The coin surged after news of an exclusive crypto and business conference at Mar-a-Lago, where President Donald Trump is set to deliver a keynote address, spurring traders to accumulate ahead of the April 25 gala luncheon.
Despite recent gains, most altcoins, like Bitcoin, were still nursing deep losses in recent months, with sentiment towards crypto remaining tenuous.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)