Bitcoin Hits Record $123,000 as U.S. Policy Momentum Fuels Rally
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The cryptocurrency later pulled back to trade around $119,745 but remained higher on the day. Market participants are closely watching developments in Washington, where the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a trio of crypto-focused bills: the Genius Act, the Clarity Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. Among them, the Genius Act would establish a federal framework for stablecoinssomething crypto advocates have sought for years.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has declared himself the crypto president, has voiced support for policies that favor the digital asset sector. His administrations backing has added momentum to the rally, which analysts say is now being driven by a combination of institutional inflows, regulatory optimism, and favorable political narratives.
Despite rising geopolitical risks and broader market unease driven by trade policy uncertainty, bitcoins surge has stood out. Some analysts, including eToros Simon Peters, point to dollar weakness as another factor contributing to bitcoins USD-denominated breakout, noting that the asset hasnt hit all-time highs in euro terms.
Bitcoins climb continues to underline its role as both a speculative vehicle and a policy-sensitive asset class; this weeks developments in Washington could determine whether the rally continues or runs out of steam.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
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'We need a multifaceted all-of-government approach to addressing a housing-affordability crisis, which has become mainstreamed across America,' Dworkin said. 'We need to build more housing, and we need to build housing that's affordable to first-time homebuyers. But we need to do it in a way that doesn't depreciate home prices.' Two bills recently introduced in Congress seek to address housing affordability. One would eliminate capital-gains taxes on home sales; another would try to boost new-home construction by cutting red tape. 'We didn't get into this because of one policy, and we're not going to get out of this because of one policy,' Dworkin added. Read more: Republicans and Democrats are joining forces to fix America's housing affordability crisis. Here's what's in their plan. So what could Powell do at this point to address the stagnant housing market? 'At this point, it would be best for housing markets if the Fed meets their mandates: conducting monetary policy in a manner that results in price stability and maximum employment,' the MBA's Fratantoni said. 'If the Fed gets monetary policy right over time, longer-term rates like mortgage rates will be lower and more stable on average,' he added. And 'that would benefit housing affordability.' Jim Bullard, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, told MarketWatch in an April interview that he was 'a little bit pessimistic about housing.' 'I think it has gotten quite a ways away from a steady state. And it's going to take a long time [to fix because] it's a slow-moving market. We just didn't build enough houses after the global financial crisis,' he said. 'It is going to take a long time to come back into equilibrium.' What personal-finance issues would you like to see covered in MarketWatch? 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