Zcash surged more than 10% to above $1,616 on Wednesday morning, outpacing all other major cryptocurrencies as Bitcoin held near $86,900 in otherwise broadly positive crypto markets.
The greenback-backed rally followed two Washington developments: the House Financial Services Committee advanced the American Reserve Modernization Act on Sept. 17 by a 28-21 vote, sending it closer to a full House vote than any predecessor ever has, and the Securities and Exchange Commission granted an innovation exemption clearing the way for onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks within a day.
"Legislatively, the SEC stepped up support of digital assets where Congress hasn't with the Innovation Exemption filling the CLARITY gap within 24 hours, driving sharp rallies in tokenization-related digital assets and improving broader confidence," said Tony Dicarlo, director of institutional propositions at RootstockLabs, in an email to CoinDesk.
Bitcoin, up about 1% over 24 hours, broke above its 50-week and 200-week moving averages and is up roughly 29% in 35 days, Dicarlo noted.
The American Reserve Modernization Act would move approximately 325,000 bitcoins currently held by the U.S. government — mostly seized through criminal and civil forfeitures — into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve administered by the Treasury. The proposed law would require the holdings be held for at least 20 years and mandate quarterly audited proof of custody. It also directs the Treasury to study options for purchasing additional bitcoin without widening the federal deficit.
Across the broader market, XRP rose 6% to just above $1.62, HYPE added 4% to nearly $97, and Dogecoin climbed 4%. Ether, BNB and Solana each advanced less than 1%. Tron was the sole large-cap decliner, falling 1%.
In wider markets, bonds rallied as crude oil extended losses. Brent fell under 1% to about $99 a barrel — a sixth straight losing session, the longest decline run in a year — after President Donald Trump said U.S. officials held a "very good" meeting with Iranian envoys in New York as Washington renewed efforts to end the conflict. Australian and New Zealand 10-year yields each dropped at least three basis points.
The yen weakened after the Bank of Japan's split 7-2 rate increase was read by traders as signaling a gradual tightening path, keeping borrowing costs low in Japan and sustaining funding flows into risk assets.
