BlackRock and Apollo just funded a new crypto project. The Senate votes on stablecoins Wednesday. And BTC is back above $81k for the first time since January.
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A few things actually moved this week.
Bitcoin pushed back above $81k for the first time since January. Solana broke out of a year-long slump. And on Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee votes on the bill that finally tells stablecoins what they can and can’t do.
Market in 60 Seconds
BTC
Back where it was in January, around $81k. Dipped midweek and bounced right back.
SOL
Broke out of a year-long slump and led crypto this week.
ETH
Got left behind. The one major that didn’t show up to the party.
Macro
Stocks hit fresh all-time highs. The Fed didn’t move rates.
On-chain
BlackRock and Fidelity ETFs bought bitcoin nine days in a row.
Vibe
Risk-on. But everyone’s watching Wednesday.
3 Stories You Should Know
The Senate writes the rulebook on Wednesday
The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act gets its first real vote on May 14. It decides what stablecoins — the dollar-pegged tokens that move money on crypto rails — are allowed to do. Specifically: can they pay you a return.
Your bank pays you about 0%. If a stablecoin can pay even 2–3% with 24/7 access, the math gets interesting.
So what: Stablecoins are basically the new checking account. Wednesday is when we find out the rules.
Circle pulled in $222M for a new project
Circle, the company behind USDC, raised $222M at a $3 billion valuation. The investors: BlackRock, Apollo, a16z, ARK, ICE, and Standard Chartered. That’s Wall Street, not crypto funds. They’re building a new blockchain called “Arc.”
So what: When those names show up writing checks, the conversation about whether crypto is “real” is basically over.
Bitcoin came back. Solana led. Ethereum lagged.
Bitcoin held its January highs — it briefly dropped midweek and bounced right back. Solana broke out of a year-long slump and is leading crypto. Ethereum is the one part that didn’t show up.
So what: Leadership has rotated to Solana. That’s usually where the energy goes first.
What We’re Watching Outside Crypto
We’ve been spending more time on the boring infrastructure plays that go alongside AI.
Everyone owns the chips. Almost nobody owns what powers them. Data centers need power, cooling, switchgear, and transmission lines. The companies building that aren’t on CNBC.
Three names worth knowing: GRID (an ETF that bundles most of the power and grid stocks), Vertiv (data center cooling), and Eaton (electrical power management).
5-to-10-year story, not a trade.
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A big shipping week.
Features: a self-sponsor gas toggle, Echo emojis and stickers in the keyboard, animated WebM stickers in the feed, and a red dot for pending notifications.
Design: refreshed featured cards, leaderboard card, trade pill, and markets balance.
The Situation Right Now
Wall Street is writing the checks. The Senate is writing the rules. And for the first time since January, price is cooperating.
None of those three usually line up at once. This week they did.
Higher pulls it together so you’re watching the right thing while it happens.
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Not financial advice. Aggregated community trends and commentary.