Crypto briefly soared while the broader markets stagnated Friday after Congress passed a landmark bill for digital assets.
The total market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies pushed past $4 trillion for the first time in history before dipping later in the day. But traditional stock indices barely budged. The S&P 500 closed the day essentially flat but posted a weekly rise of almost 0.7%. The Nasdaq was up about 0.4% on the day, and the Dow Jones dropped 0.3%.
On Thursday, the House passed three pieces of crypto legislation. Two bills went to the Senate for a further vote. The third, which regulates stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar, had already passed in the Senate and went to the White House. On Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed the bill, called the Genius Act, into law.
“We worked hard. It’s a very important act, the Genius Act. They named it after me,” Trump joked during a press conference before the bill signing.
After Congress passed the bill, the world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin briefly shot past $120,000, according to data from Binance. Crypto-related companies also saw their shares rise in Friday morning trading. The stock for U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase notched an all-time high as it quickly rose almost 6% to $444 after markets opened. It dipped later in the day, closing Friday up 2.2%. The online brokerage Robinhood, which lets users buy and sell crypto, also recorded an all-time high of nearly $113 and posted a daily jump of 4%.
CEOs for Coinbase, Robinhood, and other major crypto companies were in the audience during Trump’s signing of the Genius Act.
Despite the Congress-fueled crypto craze, a report on Trump’s tariffs likely weighed on the larger market. As the U.S. negotiates with the European Union over a potential trade deal, Trump is said to be pushing for a minimum tariff on the EU of between 15% and 20%, reported the Financial Times, citing sources briefed on the talks.
Kush Desai, a spokesperson for the White House, declined to comment on the report.
Trump’s tariff negotiations have consumed the markets since early April, when he unveiled a suite of severe taxes on imports from U.S. trading partners. The markets initially cratered before rallying and regaining their losses by early May. They’ve since surged and have notched repeated all-time highs, including on Thursday, when the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at new records.
