Crypto markets are stirring after months of listless trading on signs that Washington is moving toward a clearer rulebook for digital assets.
Bitcoin rose 2.5% at one point on Tuesday, inching toward $67 000, while shares of Coinbase Global climbed as much as 13% after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said lawmakers were at the “1-yard line” on the Clarity Act. He urged Congress to pass the long-awaited bill before leaving for recess. Ether added as much as 2.5% to trade around $1 950, and smaller tokens also rallied.
Bessent’s comments on Tuesday added a fresh catalyst to signs the sector’s latest downturn may already have run its course. The technical and institutional backdrop has quietly improved, while investor sentiment seems to have turned a corner.
“Bitcoin has quietly been building a nice ‘base’ by trading within a sideways range since early June,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “Now, with the Clarity Act getting closer to passage, it is trying to rally past of the top end of that range. So, if the act can push over the goal line, it could be a nice catalyst for a strong breakout move by Bitcoin.”
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Bitcoin has climbed about 13% this month after two consecutive monthly declines. Spot ETF inflows have turned positive again, while trading volumes have recovered and derivatives positioning points to fading selling pressure.
Previous crypto bear markets have tended to bottom through prolonged periods of stabilization rather than a single capitulation event, according to analysts. Some say it’s possible the latest correction has already exhausted itself.
FRNT Financial’s Stephane Ouellette pointed to Bitcoin’s trading range of roughly $60 000 to $67 000 since the start of June. The original cryptocurrency was range-bound because investors were focused more on artificial-intelligence trades and high-profile equity offerings, including SpaceX’s public debut. As those trends have calmed down, it sets up Bitcoin for a bounce, Ouellette said.
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“With Bitcoin at the top end of the range, we see the path of least resistance being higher and an elevated likelihood of a breakout of the range as the AI trade slows and the market becomes more comfortable with the path of interest rates,” he said.
Crypto markets have been battered since October, following a surprise crash that liquidated swaths of positions and dented sentiment enough to prevent any major uptick. During that period, investors sold each rally, preventing a meaningful recovery.
But close watchers of the market have been searching for signals that the worst is over. They’ve been sleuthing through data points for signs that a bottom may be forming. Analysts at crypto firm Tagus said that recent institutional interest “stands in contrast to the severe selling pressure and record redemptions experienced earlier in the summer.”
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