The price of Bitcoin has broken through the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. Analysts say it reflects a bipartisan deal on whether to allow "interest payments," the biggest sticking point in a U.S. stablecoin regulatory bill.
As of 4:25 p.m. on the 5th, Bitcoin was trading at $81,000 on CoinMarketCap, a global coin market data site, up 1.45% from 24 hours earlier. Over the past four months, Bitcoin's price had moved sideways between $60,000 and $70,000.
Some say a bipartisan agreement by Republicans and Democrats on whether to allow interest payments—the core sticking point in the stablecoin regulatory bill—acted as a catalyst. On the 1st, U.S. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and U.S. Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks prepared a core compromise on the Digital Asset regulatory proposal, the Clarity Act. The two parties had been at an impasse on this issue for about a year.
According to the compromise, adding interest as compensation for activities such as payments, remittances, and transactions using stablecoins is allowed. Examples include providing cash back on stablecoin payments or offering fee discounts to cross-border remittance users. In contrast, a model in which interest accrues simply by buying stablecoins and leaving them in an exchange wallet, like bank deposits, is prohibited.
Shares related to virtual assets also rose on the news. On the 4th, in New York trading, MicroStrategy (3.74%), Robinhood (3.92%), and Coinbase (6.14%) climbed together. Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, seen as the biggest beneficiary, jumped 19.89% in a day.