Bitcoin is trading near $82,000 this Sunday, up about 0.65% from a week ago. That's still roughly 22% below where it sat a year ago, and a long way from the October 2025 peak above $126,000. But the price has held mostly between $80,000 and $82,000 over the past seven days, and a fresh wave of institutional demand is helping to firm up support.
ETFs keep eating supply
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in about $1.9 billion in net inflows last month — the strongest month since October 2025. That flipped year-to-date flows positive. Cumulative inflows since the products launched in 2024 now stand near $58 billion, and the ETFs collectively hold more than 1.3 million BTC.
Through early May, the funds logged nine consecutive days of net inflows totaling roughly $2.7 billion. That removed an estimated 33,000 to 35,000 BTC from tradable supply. At recent points in April, daily ETF absorption exceeded fresh mining output. The bulk of that demand is concentrated in BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, with IBIT acting as a proxy for institutional sentiment.
CLARITY Act hits the Senate — and the ABA hits back
The CLARITY Act — a market-structure bill that draws a clear line between SEC and CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets — is approaching a markup in the Senate Banking Committee. A floor vote is targeted for this summer, after a compromise on stablecoin yield.
The American Bankers Association isn't happy. CEO Rob Nichols launched a last-minute lobbying campaign, urging bank executives to pressure their senators before the markup. Nichols warned that the bill's stablecoin yield provisions could pull deposits out of traditional banks and into payment stablecoins, threatening financial stability and economic growth.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal countered that the banking industry had already won concessions during prior White House negotiations. Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) accused the banks of trying to kill innovation.
Geopolitics gave risk assets a nudge
The latest leg higher in Bitcoin came after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled a reduced risk of further military escalation with Iran. That eased pressure on the dollar and crude oil, giving risk assets room to breathe.
The White House is also working on a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve framework — a plan to govern how the government manages seized coins without direct budget outlays. No details yet on timing, but the policy discussion is active.
The Senate Banking Committee markup is the next concrete milestone. If the CLARITY Act clears committee, the floor fight — and the ABA's full-court press — will move to the Senate calendar.
