Bitcoin recovered most of its weekly losses on Friday as a new US regulatory exemption for tokenized securities boosted confidence in the digital-asset sector, while falling oil prices and Treasury yields supported broader risk appetite.
Bitcoin rose 2.25 percent to $78,072 by 10:00 GMT, leaving the world’s largest cryptocurrency broadly flat for the week after recovering most of its earlier declines.
The wider cryptocurrency market also advanced, helped by easing oil prices, lower U.S. Treasury yields and dovish signals from the Bank of Japan.
SEC move bolsters crypto sentiment
The rebound followed a decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to introduce a long-awaited exemption allowing companies to facilitate trading in blockchain-based, or “tokenized,” stocks and other securities.
Under the measure, platforms facilitating the trading of tokenized stocks can receive an exemption for five years. Tokenized securities are digital representations of traditional assets such as stocks that can be traded using blockchain technology.
The move could help bring digital assets closer to traditional financial markets while supporting the development of around-the-clock trading.
The SEC exemption also helped markets look beyond the Senate’s failure to advance the Clarity Act, which had been viewed as an important step toward establishing a broader U.S. regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins indicated that the regulator would continue pursuing its own regulatory approvals following the setback in Congress.
Analysts, however, have argued that lasting cryptocurrency regulation ultimately requires congressional legislation. Rules introduced without new legislation could be more exposed to changes in the political environment or potential legal challenges.
Altcoins outperform Bitcoin
Major cryptocurrencies also recovered ground on Friday, with several altcoins outperforming Bitcoin.
Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, gained 2.7 percent to $2,503, while XRP rose 2.6 percent.
Solana climbed 5.8 percent, Cardano rallied more than 8 percent and BNB advanced 3.5 percent.
The stronger performance among altcoins came as the SEC’s tokenization exemption is expected to benefit blockchain networks that already support tokenized assets more directly than Bitcoin.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin gained 4.2 percent, while $TRUMP rose 5.7 percent.
Oil, yields support risk appetite
Crypto markets also benefited from broader improvements in risk sentiment.
Oil prices extended their recent decline amid signs of improving Saudi Arabian supply, easing some concerns that had weighed on risk assets.
U.S. Treasury yields also moved lower, while markets continued to digest the Federal Reserve’s rate hike earlier in the week. The move provided greater clarity on the direction of US monetary policy.
Dovish signals from the Bank of Japan added further support to risk appetite, helping cryptocurrencies recover from their earlier weekly declines.
