Crypto shares climb after Trump advocates for Clarity Act

By Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil

Aug 20 (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related stocks surged on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass legislation establishing clear rules for digital assets, following a White House meeting with industry executives.

Trump, a vocal cryptocurrency advocate who has promised to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world,” on Wednesday called on lawmakers to pass a “fair version of the Clarity Act”, an industry-backed bill stalled in the Senate.

“Trump’s comments yesterday are incrementally positive because they suggest the White House is putting more direct pressure on Congress to get the legislation done,” said U.S. Tiger Securities analyst Bo Pei.

Clarity, if enacted, would define whether cryptocurrency qualifies as a security or a commodity, clarifying jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the sector.

Industry ​executives and analysts have said that without legislation, regulations are vulnerable to shifting political winds and court challenges.

However, many Democrats, and some Republicans, say they would not support a bill without strong language banning political officials, including Trump, from profiting from their own crypto ventures.

President Trump disclosed more than $1.4 billion in earnings from his family’s crypto ventures in 2025.

“The concerns around Trump and his family profiting from crypto ventures are therefore important and could complicate the negotiations, particularly around ethics and conflict-of-interest provisions,” Pei said.

Bitcoin rose 3.8% and crossed the $70,000 mark. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has lost about 18% so far this year and remains down about 43% from its record high in October.

Ether gained 3.3%, its highest level in over three months.

Crypto exchange Coinbase Global <COIN.O> gained 5.7%, while bitcoin bull Strategy <MSTR.O> rose 5.8%.

Bitcoin mining machine maker Canaan surged 12.5%, stablecoin issuer Circle gained 3.8% and retail trading platform Robinhood advanced 1%.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Maju Samuel)