Bitcoin rose sharply on Wednesday, leading a rally across cryptocurrency markets after news of a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran sparked stellar gains across risk-driven assets.
Progress towards regulatory clarity on stablecoin yield payments in the U.S. also aided crypto markets, although the passage of a formal bill still appeared distant.
Bitcoin jumped 4.7% to $71,835.6 by 02:27 ET (06:27 GMT).
Get more key insights on crypto prices by subscribing to InvestingPro
Bitcoin rallies as US, Iran signal two-week ceasefire Bitcoin traced gains in stocks and gold after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will hold off attacking Iran for two weeks, and that the two were working on a potential ceasefire.
Iranian officials also noted that the U.S. had accepted the framework of a 10-point path towards a ceasefire, and also indicated that a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was possible.
The ceasefire was proposed by Pakistan, with Islamabad stating that both Washington and Tehran had agreed to the deal. Pakistani officials also offered to host direct ceasefire talks in Islamabad later this week.
U.S. and Iranian comments on Tuesday represent their strongest signal yet for a ceasefire, as the Middle East conflict entered its sixth consecutive week.
Risk-driven markets rallied on the prospect of an end to the war, with Wall Street futures surging over 3% in Asian trade.
FDIC proposes to govern stablecoin issuers as Clarity act debate carries on The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp this week formally proposed its approach to stablecoin issuers, which will entail regulation of major issuers as outlined under the GENIUS act.
Stablecoin issuers will not hold the same deposit insurance kept by traditional banking accounts under the FDIC, the proposal said.
The FDIC proposal is the latest step by U.S. policymakers to establish a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins and yields paid on the asset class. The Clarity act, which will establish this framework, is still being debated by Congress after months of delays.
A major point of contention is the treatment of stablecoin yields, with major banks arguing that stablecoin issuers need to face as strict regulatory requirements as those for traditional banking accounts.
Crypto industry proponents, however, have largely rebuked this notion.
Crypto price today: altcoins track Bitcoin rally Broader crypto prices tracked gains in Bitcoin, with world no.2 crypto Ether up 6.9% at $2,250.15.
XRP, Solana, and Cardano rose between 5% and 8%, while BNB added 2.8%.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin rose 4.3%, while $TRUMP jumped 6.6%.
