Prices of major virtual assets are rising as expectations grow for easing Middle East geopolitical risks and progress in U.S. digital asset regulation talks.
As of 8:23 a.m. on the 4th, on the global coin tracking site CoinMarketCap, bitcoin was trading at $78,729, up 0.01% from 24 hours earlier. Ethereum, the No. 2 by market cap, was also up 0.24% over the same period at $2,326. Binance Holdings Ltd. was trading at $619, up 0.25%.
This rebound appears to reflect heightened expectations for easing Middle East geopolitical tensions, lifting risk-asset investor sentiment. On the 2nd (local time), Iran conveyed a 14-point cease-fire proposal to the United States through Pakistan, and the United States was also said to have delivered its response through Pakistan, the mediator.
There was also positive news for the market on the digital asset regulation front. On the 1st, the U.S. Senate formed a bipartisan agreement on the CLARITY Act to establish a digital asset regulatory framework. The compromise led by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, and Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks would ban the payment of deposit-like interest simply for holding stablecoins while allowing rewards based on actual activity such as using platforms.