New York, May 5, 2026, 14:02 (EDT)
Bitcoin stayed north of $81,000 on Tuesday, riding momentum from renewed optimism over U.S. crypto legislation and evidence that demand was steady around the $80,000 mark. The coin was last seen at $81,304, not far from its session peak of $81,656.
$80,000 wasn’t just a psychological milestone—there was more to it. Bitcoin climbed as high as $80,594 on Monday, a 2.1% gain and the highest since Jan. 31, Bloomberg reported. Ether and Solana managed smaller advances.
The real mover here is the CLARITY Act. It’s a market-structure bill—think legislation aiming to nail down trading and oversight rules for digital assets. According to a House report on H.R. 3633, the bill would establish a regulatory framework for offering and selling digital commodities, pulling both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission into the mix.
The main sticking point right now: stablecoin rewards. These are crypto tokens pegged to the dollar or another asset, and yield refers to rewards similar to interest. Fortune noted that the House cleared the bill in July 2025, but it hit a wall in the Senate because banks and stablecoin companies clashed over whether platforms should be allowed to pay out rewards for holding stablecoins. Since then, Sens. Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks have hammered out new compromise language. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott told Fox Business, “We’re in the red zone,” aiming for a markup in May and targeting a Senate floor vote as early as June or July. Fortune
Crypto companies saw the draft as something of a win, if incomplete. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the industry had “protected what matters”—he’s referring to incentives for actually using crypto platforms, not just holding stablecoins. Meanwhile, Investopedia noted that Polymarket odds for the CLARITY Act passing into law in 2026 have climbed past 60%. Investopedia
This wasn’t just noise on the tape. According to CoinDesk, blockchain data pointed to net realized profits of around $208 million as Bitcoin briefly pierced the $80,000 mark. Realized profit tracks the gains investors actually lock in when coins are transferred or sold — which means sellers did hit the market, and the buying side had no problem absorbing their supply.
Fund flows played a role too. Sherwood cited SoSoValue, noting that U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds pulled in $532.21 million on Monday, pushing May’s total inflows to $1.16 billion. Max Kahn, CEO of Digital Wealth Partners, told Sherwood the $80,000 mark hinges on ETF demand and broader market conditions, and pointed out that “short-term volatility around key levels should be expected.” Sherwood News
But the legislation isn’t across the finish line yet, and banks aren’t letting up. The American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute and other industry groups argue the Tillis-Alsobrooks provision “falls short.” They’re warning: yield-bearing stablecoins could shrink lending to consumers, small businesses and farmers by at least 20%. If lawmakers revisit that language, the sticking point that bogged down the Senate bill could flare up again. Bank Policy Institute
Market risk remains in play. A policy jolt can lose momentum fast if follow-through buying dries up after the initial rush. “Crypto sentiment looked ‘somewhat stretched in the short term,’” Bitwise’s head of research in Europe, André Dragosch, told Sherwood. Bitcoin likely needs a bigger push from institutions to stick above the $80,000-$81,000 range for any length of time. Sherwood News
At this point, Bitcoin’s challenge has shifted from technical charts to the Senate’s agenda. If the markup process goes smoothly, hopes for favorable regulation stick around. But should lawmakers stall, or if the compromise softens, or ETF appetite fizzles, that $80,000 mark is back in question.
