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Bitcoin has hit a fresh all-time high this month as a nightmare scenario engulfs the Federal Reserve and traders brace for the next “big” move that could come as soon as next week.
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The bitcoin price, doubling from its April lows, hit a peak of $123,000 per bitcoin this week — with a huge crypto rally lifting the price of ethereum, XRP and other cryptocurrencies to a combined $4 trillion for the first time as Elon Musk confirms a bitcoin game-changer.
Now, as a wild new XRP-related theory around the identity of bitcoin’s mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto emerges, U.S. president Donald Trump has predicted a “golden age” will make crypto and the U.S. dollar “stronger and bigger and better than ever before” as he signs the Genius Act stablecoin bill into law.
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“The golden age of America is upon us, and with today, signing the beauty of crypto and crypto industry and U.S. dollar working together because they really are hand in hand, because they’ll be stronger and bigger and better than ever before,” Trump, who has called himself the first crypto president, said during a White House signing ceremony, putting his name to the Genius Act stablecoin bill before a crowd of crypto company executives.
Trump added the bill is a “giant step to cement American dominance of global finance and crypto technology'” and that it’s a “massive validation” for crypto companies.
The crypto market has added a combined $2 trillion since September last year, with bitcoin trading at just over $50,000 per bitcoin in early August.
This month alone, ethereum and Ripple’s XRP have seen huge gains, adding 40% and 60% respectively as traders bet the passage of the Genius Act will mean the Trump administration is able to achieve its future crypto policy goals.
Next week, a report from Trump’s digital asset task force is due that may reveal plans for the U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve that Trump ordered in March, as well as a crypto stockpile that’s had ethereum, XRP, solana and cardano named to it.
The Senate is also expected to begin considering the crypto market structure Clarity Act, with senator Tim Scott, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, setting a deadline of September 30.
The Genius Act will require companies issuing stablecoins to maintain fully-backed reserves of U.S. dollars or “similarly liquid” government-issued assets, such as bonds, and companies that issue more than $50 billion of a stablecoin will be required to complete annual audits.
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“The House passed landmark legislation that establishes clear rules of the road by creating a functional regulatory framework for digital assets,” French Hill, the top Republican on the House financial services committee, said in a statement. “This is the pivotal moment for American innovation and a critical step forward in protecting consumers and investors alike.”
Traditional interest is not allowed to be paid out to those holding stablecoins, something Trump’s crypto czar David Sacks has previously said he hopes changes in the future.
“We’re fixing the plumbing of our financial system,” Bo Hines, executive director of the president’s White House council of advisers on digital assets, said during an episode of the All In Podcast he appeared on alongside Sacks following the Genius Act’s signing.
“We’re securing U.S. dollar dominance for decades to come. If you want to access our capital markets, you’re going to have to use a dollar back stable[coin].”
The bitcoin price and crypto market surge has been cheered by traders and analysts, some of whom are predicting that “momentum is building.”
“At the start of the week, U.S. lawmakers declared it ‘crypto week’ and it’s turned out to be just that,” Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG, said in emailed comments.
“Bitcoin is hovering around the $120,000 mark, ethereum has climbed to a six-month high, and altcoins like XRP and litecoin are roaring back, all against a backdrop of surging exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows and renewed institutional interest. With the total crypto market cap pushing past $4 trillion, momentum is building on multiple fronts, and sentiment across the space is shifting decisively.”
