Bitcoin Sets New Record as House Plans 'Crypto Week'

Bitcoin broke new ground Thursday, setting a new record for the first time since it briefly flirted with $113,000 in late May. The cryptocurrency surged to more than $116,000 Thursday and continued to rise early Friday, nearly hitting $119,000 at one point. Investor optimism about the cryptocurrency's future appeared to get a boost from developments on Capitol Hill, Forbes reports.

• House Republicans recently declared the week of July 14 "Crypto Week," setting the stage for votes on a suite of crypto-friendly bills, including the GENIUS Act. The legislation, championed by GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty, aims to create the first federal regulations for issuers of stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar.

• Supporters argue the measure would help stabilize the $238 billion stablecoin market, requiring issuers to back their digital coins with reserves and prioritize customer repayment if things go south. The bill cleared the Senate in May, though not without pushback from both sides of the aisle.
• Heavyweight crypto investments are adding to the buzz. GameStop snapped up $513 million worth of bitcoin in May, and Trump Media and Technology Group unveiled a plan last month to raise $2.5 billion to amass a corporate bitcoin reserve.
• Other cryptocurrencies, including ethereum and XRP, also surged. Altogether, about $160 billion was added to the global crypto market's value in just 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. The Independent reports that bitcoin's market cap is now more than $2.3 trillion, making the cryptocurrency more valuable than tech giants like Meta. It's also believed to be more valuable than all the silver ever mined, though it's still a long way short of gold's estimated $22 trillion value.