Clarity Act advances in Senate, lifting XLM 7% as Bitcoin holds near $78K

The day's main driver was legislative: Senate Republicans released what they're calling the final draft of the Clarity Act, a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework, and Trump's agreement to include stricter ethics provisions cleared a significant political obstacle. Bernstein analysts noted the development is 'definitely not priced in,' suggesting markets have not yet fully absorbed the implications of a bill this close to passage. Altcoins with direct regulatory exposure moved the most. XRP gained 4.1% and Stellar jumped 6.9% — both assets have faced years of legal and regulatory uncertainty, so a credible path to a clear federal framework carries outsized meaning for their holders. Zcash and Hyperliquid also gained roughly 3.8% each, part of a broader altcoin lift. Monero moved in the opposite direction: privacy coins stand to face stricter compliance requirements under any regulatory framework that emphasizes transaction traceability, and Monero fell 4.1% as traders priced in that risk. Bitcoin's 1.4% gain to $77,858 came with an additional tailwind: an AI-sector selloff hit technology equities, and crypto — Bitcoin in particular — attracted capital that rotated out of tech stocks. BTC dominance ticked upward, consistent with a pattern where Bitcoin draws relative safe-haven flows during equity stress. Ethereum rose 1.2%, broadly in line with Bitcoin rather than leading the altcoin charge.

• –The Fed, Bank of England, and Bank of Japan are all scheduled to announce interest-rate decisions this week — a rare convergence of major central bank actions that tends to increase volatility across risk assets.
• –India announced it is beginning to tokenize its $620 billion corporate bond market, one of the largest sovereign-scale blockchain infrastructure commitments to date.
• –The UK's Financial Conduct Authority is exploring regulatory exemptions for tokenized gold products, a move that could accelerate real-world asset tokenization in London's financial markets.