Bitcoin climbed closer to the $82,000 mark on Monday, continuing a recovery that market participants linked to a recent U.S. regulatory development and softer oil prices.
At 02:29 ET (06:29 GMT) the cryptocurrency was trading up 1.8% at $81,816.9, having added about 5% over the past week. The token had earlier dropped below $76,000 after last week’s Federal Reserve rate increase, before beginning to recover over the weekend.
Regulatory change lifts sentiment
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday issued a temporary, five-year exemption permitting qualifying trading venues to offer tokenized U.S. stock trading on blockchain-based platforms, subject to specified conditions. The agency framed the decision as an attempt to balance innovation with investor protections.
Market observers said the ruling strengthened expectations that conventional financial assets might be more tightly linked with blockchain markets, a shift that helped lift the shares of crypto-exposed equities and several large digital tokens.
Notable moves among listed firms included Coinbase rising 12% on Friday, Strategy gaining 16%, and Robinhood advancing 9%.
On the digital-asset side, Zcash rose about 3% to trade above $1,500, while NEAR surged roughly 23% as trading involving Zcash increased on NEAR’s cross-chain swap service.
Wider markets and commodities also moved
The broader risk backdrop supported the rally as Asian equities increased and U.S. stock futures improved following what were described as positive signals in U.S.-China trade discussions ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Brent crude provided another tailwind, falling about 2% to below $102 a barrel and extending a four-session decline. Market commentary cited expectations of higher Middle Eastern supply as easing some inflation and energy cost pressures.
Despite the favorable near-term backdrop, higher U.S. Treasury yields and the prospect of additional Federal Reserve tightening remain potential headwinds for Bitcoin.
Altcoins broadly higher
Most other major tokens advanced on Monday in line with Bitcoin’s strength. Ethereum rose 3.7% to $2,670.92. XRP increased 4.1% to $1.437. Solana gained 3.6%, Cardano jumped 6.3%, and BNB rose 3%. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin climbed nearly 5%.
The market moves reflected a combination of regulatory clarity for tokenization initiatives and softer commodity-driven inflation concerns, while macro drivers such as Treasury yields and Fed policy expectations continue to represent sources of uncertainty for crypto prices.