Bitcoin Regains $81,000 After Two Weeks as Solana Jumps 11%

Major cryptocurrencies rallied across the board, led by Bitcoin. Investor sentiment improved despite delays in U.S. crypto market-structure legislation and a Federal Reserve rate increase, helped by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s easing of rules on tokenized stock trading and renewed inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

On Sept. 18, Bitcoin traded at $81,128 in Binance’s Tether market. That was up 6.25% from a day earlier and put the token back above $81,000 for the first time in two weeks, since Sept. 4.

Altcoins posted even bigger gains. Ether rose 7.20% to $2,620, while XRP climbed 7.95% to $1.40. Solana surged 11.6% to $113, standing out among major cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin also rose about 8% to $0.088. BNB gained 3.8%, while Zcash advanced 3.7%.

A shift in U.S. regulatory policy was a key driver of the rebound. On Sept. 17, the SEC introduced an “Innovation Exemption” that grants some trading platforms a conditional five-year regulatory waiver, allowing stocks listed on U.S. exchanges to be tokenized and traded on blockchain networks. SEC Chair Paul Atkins described the move as a step toward bringing U.S. capital markets on-chain.

The measure came just after the Clarity Act ran into difficulty in the U.S. Senate, influencing investor sentiment. That raised expectations that regulators including the SEC could continue refining digital-asset rules under existing authority even if congressional legislation is delayed. The Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC’s move, along with efforts by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to craft crypto-related rules, helped support Bitcoin’s rebound.

Institutional money also returned. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of about $159.5 million on Sept. 17. That followed net outflows of $450.3 million on Sept. 15 and $296 million on Sept. 16, before reversing back to net inflows a day later.

The impact of the Fed’s rate increase was also more limited than expected, helping to spur buying. The Fed raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point on Sept. 16. It was the first rate increase in three years, but the crypto market held steady without a sharp additional selloff. Falling oil prices also eased some inflation concerns, helping restore appetite for risk assets.

Bitcoin’s move above $80,000 further accelerated the rally through short-covering and rotation into altcoins. As the broader market rebounded, funds moved into relatively more volatile altcoins, amplifying the gains.