Crypto stocks rally amid Clarity Act momentum; Circle jumps nearly 20%

Crypto-related stocks closed higher on Monday, with Circle leading the rally with a 20% surge, primarily driven by progress toward resolving the months-long dispute surrounding the Clarity Act.

Circle shares rose 19.89% to close at $119.53 on Monday. The stock of the USDC stablecoin issuer has gained 32.4% over the past month and 50.7% year-to-date. Coinbase Global closed up 6.14% at $202.99.

Bitgo, a crypto infrastructure firm, also saw its shares climb 10.26%, closing at $11.50. Robinhood added 3.92%, while SOL Strategies jumped 17.83%.

Meanwhile, bitcoin topped $80,000, trading up 2.12% at $80,020 as of 9:20 p.m. ET Monday. In contrast, the broader U.S. equities market declined on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.13% and the S&P 500 slipping 0.41% amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.

The crypto stock rally coincided with progress in Washington. On Friday, Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., finalized a compromise on language governing stablecoin yields, a key sticking point in the debate over the Clarity Act.

The latest provision blocks “covered parties” from paying any form of interest or yield to U.S. customers solely for holding stablecoins, or in any manner “economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit.”

Pushback

Banking groups have opposed provisions in a 2025 stablecoin law that bar issuers from paying interest directly but leave room for platforms like Coinbase to offer rewards. They argue such incentives could draw deposits away from traditional banks.

On Monday, major banking trade groups said the proposed fix “falls short.”

“Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks are seeking to achieve the correct policy goal — prohibiting the payment of yield and interest on stablecoins; however, the proposed language falls short of that goal,” the bank trade groups said. “It is imperative that Congress get this right.”

In response, Sen. Tillis said Monday that the latest version represents a “substantially improved, consensus-based product.”

“Our compromise prohibits stablecoin rewards from resembling interest on bank deposits, our core concern over deposit flight,” said Tillis in a post on X.