Bitcoin Price Soars to a Record Above $122,000. These Crypto Bills Can Lift It Higher. — Barrons.com

By Elsa Ohlen

Bitcoin price soared past $120,000 for the first time early Monday.

The crypto continued its bull run at the start of what has been coined "Crypto Week" as three key bills, important for the sector, make their way through Congress over the next five days.

The price of the world's largest cryptocurrency was up 3.57% to $122,310 early Monday, according to CoinDesk data. The run, which broke out in the middle of last week, is fueled by macroeconomic tailwinds such as expectations of an interest-rate cut later this year, according to analysts.

"This has capped further dollar strength and improved the appeal of dollar-denominated assets like Bitcoin," Dilin Wu at Pepperstone said Friday.

Legislation passing through the House of Representative's will further strengthen investors' bet on digital currencies. Three bills aim to provide structure to the crypto sector wheh passed: the GENIUS stablecoin Act; the CLARITY Act to establish a regulatory framework for cryptos; and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would ban the Federal Reserve Banks from issuing central bank digital currencies to individuals.

"Historically, when lawmakers advance industry-backed frameworks, institutional sentiment strengthens," Wu said. "We expect capital that was previously sidelined due to regulatory uncertainty to re-enter, particularly into staking and token projects."

Cryptos remain volatile assets so investors shouldn't rule out sharp pullbacks following such big gains.

The crypto fear and greed index currently stands at 70, up from around 50 last week. The index ranges between 0 to 100, with higher levels indicating that the market could be overheated. A figure of 70 suggests the market is "due for a correction," Shivam Thakral, CEO of digital asset exchange BuyUcoin, noted Monday.

Among other cryptocurrencies, Ether was up 2.7% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data, XRP rose 5.3% and Solana gained 2.5%.

Crypto-linked stocks were also rising in premarket trading Monday. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, and crypto exchange Coinbase Global rose 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com

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