Crypto Week Cements U.S. Leadership In Digital Asset Innovation
America is firmly on track to become the crypto capital of the world following Crypto Week, an historical political milestone for crypto laws with record-breaking House votes passing a trifecta of crypto bills: the CLARITY Act, the GENIUS Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
In the run-up to the Crypto Week bitcoin (BTC) hit the $120,000 mark, and Ethereum (ETH) recorded a massive price appreciation to strengthen its position in the financial ecosystem as the preferred platform for stablecoins and financial institutions.
Crypto Week's Trifecta
On July 3, French Hill, chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, declared 14-18 July 'Crypto Week.' During this time, leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives discussed and debated three crypto bills for a final vote.
Hill, an Arkansas Representative, said, 'I believe the bills we will have on the floor… will protect investors, consumers, and make America, as President Trump wants, a leader in financial technology and crypto and digital asset innovation.'
The lawmakers wanted to get the two of the bills ready before Congress breaks for recess in August, the GENIUS Act has already been passed in the Senate, Trump signed it into law on Friday, July 18.
One of the three bills is the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act which aims to introduce a regulatory framework for the crypto industry. The Clarity Act will define the roles of the SEC and CFTC, as well as provide a limited exemption from the Securities Act of 1933's registration requirement for certain offers and sales of investment contracts involving digital commodities.
The other bill is the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which sets rules for stablecoin issuing entities. Besides extending the Bank Secrecy Act to stablecoin issuers, the GENIUS Act ensures issuers must maintain reserves backing the stablecoin on a one-to-one basis in (high quality) U.S. dollar denominated assets.
Finally, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act is the most controversial bill, since it prevents America's central bank, the Federal Reserve, from issuing a CBDC. The bill also aims to prevent the Federal Reserve from influencing monetary policy through a CBDC and further ensures that only Congress can issue a digital dollar.
'A trifecta of bills cleared the House this week all eyes were on the U.S. as they made decisive moves to enact pro-innovation rules, and the first ever piece of crypto specific legislation in the history of the nation,' says Elise Soucie Watts, executive director of Global Digital Finance, the global crypto and digital assets industry association.
These bills are set to profoundly transform America's financial ecosystem and achieved bipartisanship but proved challenging to pass.
Innovation Theater In The House
Donald Trump ordered Republican lawmakers to vote yes for the GENIUS ACT, and yet the crypto bills failed to clear an important procedural step in the House of Representatives last Tuesday. A deadlock resulted when an estimated 13 Republicans voted against the resolution and refused to support the vote unless a CBDC ban was guaranteed to pass.
Several Republican representatives including Andy Biggs, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tim Burchett, Anna Paulina Luna, and Victoria Spartz took to X to clarify they weren't against the crypto bill per se, but did not want the GENIUS Act to be passed unless it had a specific clause for banning CBDCs.
Trump had to intervene and met with 11 representatives at the Oval Office to convince them to vote in favor of the legislation. After a record-long procedural vote to set up floor debate that lasted nine hours, the longest in the House's history — it was eventually passed late on Wednesday.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the three crypto bills on Thursday. The CLARITY Act was passed with 294-134 votes, 308-122 in favor of the GENIUS Act, and 219-210 for the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The bills were passed with major bipartisan support, with over 80 Democrats voting yes for the CLARITY Act and 100 of them supporting the GENIUS Act. But the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State bill received the least support from Democrats and may remain a contentious issue.
Steve Scalise, House Majority Leader, and Tom Emmer, Majority Whip of the House of Representatives, have mentioned that Republicans will add a CBDC ban to the must-pass defense spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), to 'ensure unelected bureaucrats are never allowed to trade America's financial privacy…'.
Analyzing the situation, Shibtoshi, ceo and founder of SquidGrow and SilentSwap, said, 'Crypto Week may be the clearest signal yet that the U.S. is ready to lead the global digital asset race. When the U.S. government, through House leadership, formally declares Crypto Week and advances landmark legislation, it signals more than symbolic support. It marks a structural shift.
'For the first time, we're seeing coordinated federal action that reflects a commitment to shaping the future of crypto rather than sidelining it. That kind of clarity doesn't just impact policy—it builds confidence across markets, institutions, and builders alike.'
Now that the CLARITY and Anti-CBDC bills have been passed, they'll go to the Senate for debate and may return to the House after amendments.
Elaborating on the benefits of a clear regulatory landscape, Zain Zaidi ceo and director of TransCrypts said, 'Compliance is a necessary component of every industry, and crypto is no exception. A robust compliance regime forms the foundation of a trust-building exercise, allowing new users to explore products and services in a safe and secure environment. The three crypto bills pave the way toward a compliant digital financial ecosystem.'
Justin Wu, cmo of Accelerate Labs, notes, 'Earlier anti-crypto policies like SAB 121 and Operation Choke Point 2.0 made it difficult for banks and financial institutions to participate in the digital assets ecosystem. The Trump administration's pro-crypto stance alongside legislative efforts like the GENIUS Act, could provide an enormous boost for certain niches within the crypto industry.
"Stablecoins, for example, form an important part of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and formal recognition will accelerate institutional adoption and retail interest. We expect these developments will have a positive ripple effect across the industry.'
As a result of the passing of the bills, the favorable regulatory conditions have had a positive impact on the price of BTC and ETH, starting before Crypto Week officially began.
The Stellar Price Performance Of BTC and ETH
At the start of Crypto Week, the price of BTC reached an all-time high of $122,600, on July 14, surpassing a $2.4 trillion market cap. Consequently, bitcoin became the fifth-most valuable asset globally, beating Amazon, Silver, and Alphabet (Google).
In the run-up to Crypto Week, spot BTC ETFs amassed over $1 billion of inflows on Friday alone. In the run up to Crypto Week, it is reported that over 200 companies are now holding BTC on their balance sheets, a sharp rise from just 124 companies weeks ago.
CK Zheng, partner at ZX Squared Capital, explained, 'Bitcoin safely positioned itself as a reliable macro asset and a hedge against fiscal indiscipline, bolstering the crypto industry's resilience and stability before the Crypto Week. Its price appreciation can be attributed to two things 1) regulatory clarity from the Trump administration and 2) strong investor confidence resulting from that clear regulatory landscape.'
BTC is not the only asset that is performing with altcoins also having a strong run, led by Ethereum.
Shibtoshi explained, 'Market momentum is clearest in Ethereum. The CLARITY Act, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and the GENIUS Act all align with Ethereum's current market position.
Regulatory recognition that ETH is not a security, brings renewed certainty—not just for the asset, but for the ecosystem building on top of it. As most stablecoin activity is anchored to Ethereum, this legislative push reinforces Ethereum's role as a foundational infrastructure for DeFi and beyond.'
A new executive order, announced last week, will enable retirement funds to access crypto and digital assets, gold, and private equity and helps to unlock an exposure to a $43 trillion market. For institutions that missed BTCs early run, ETH presents a more familiar path: a yield-generating, programmable asset increasingly viewed as treasury-grade.
This narrative shift is already playing out in the ETH/BTC chart, as capital begins to follow the MicroStrategy playbook, this time, with ETH at the center.
'Ultimately, the combination of regulatory scaffolding and new institutional demand isn't just lifting Ethereum, it's reshaping how digital assets are evaluated. The real impact of Crypto Week is that it lays the foundation for mainstream adoption, positioning the U.S. to lead the next chapter of financial innovation,' adds Shibtoshi.
It remains to be seen how the Senate defines 'digital commodities' while discussing the CLARITY Act to avoid any regulatory gaps and arbitrage opportunities. The CBDC policy is also a highly sensitive issue, and clarifications on its provisions will take time. Similarly, the GENIUS Act will now enter the crucial stage of making the rules and involving the Federal Reserve.
Adds Soucie Watts, 'Work remains to complete the full framework with new market structure proposals already set out from the Senate. The U.S. will need to continue its bipartisan momentum to realize its vision to be the home of global crypto capital."
Crypto Week has set the ball rolling for active legislation through bipartisan support and consensus-building. Although implementing the Acts and cross-agency collaborations are yet to be finalized, the U.S. has cemented its leadership in digital asset innovation with the emerging clear regulatory guidelines.
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