Bitcoin stalls, but Wall Street stays upbeat… “The CLARITY Act is the key variable”

Bitcoin has been swinging around the $90,000 level without finding meaningful rebound momentum since its sharp drop late last year. That marks a steep decline from the all-time high it posted in October last year ($126,199).

Even amid market jitters, optimism is emerging on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank, said this year’s legislative push in the US Congress could become a powerful catalyst that draws institutional investors into the digital-asset (cryptocurrency) market.

According to Forbes on the 9th (local time), a Goldman Sachs analysis team led by James Yaro said, “An improved regulatory environment will be a key driver of continued institutional adoption of digital assets, including by financial firms.”

Goldman Sachs in particular pointed to the so-called “CLARITY Act,” a market-structure bill currently being discussed in Congress, as a key factor that could reshape the market landscape. The bill seeks to clarify the scope of regulation for tokenized assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, and to delineate the roles of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said a hearing will be held on the 15th to finalize revisions to the bill and bring it to a final vote. Goldman Sachs said, “These steps are essential to unlock institutional capital,” while adding, “With legislation potentially delayed by the US midterm election schedule in November, passage in the first half of the year is important.”

David Sacks, the AI and digital-asset czar, also voiced confidence in the bill’s passage. In a recent post on X, he said, “After speaking with Chairman Tim Scott and others, I confirmed that the bill review will proceed in January,” adding, “Passage of the groundbreaking digital-asset market-structure bill requested by President Trump is closer than ever.”

Other Wall Street experts are also offering upbeat projections. Jim Perrazzoli, managing director of digital-asset strategy at the Charles Schwab Center for Financial Research, said, “Adoption could be somewhat slower in the first half due to the fallout from the late-year selloff, but if the CLARITY Act passes, the influx of true institutional investors will accelerate.”

Bitcoin bulls are raising their targets for this year. In an interview with CNBC, Yu Wei Yang, chief economist at Bit Mining, said, “Backed by potential rate cuts and a favorable regulatory environment, 2026 will be a powerful year for Bitcoin,” projecting the price could rise to as high as $225,000.