Bitcoin tops $80,000 price as Clarity Act nears Senate floor with new Fed chair imminent

Bitcoin punched through $80,000 on Monday, up 19% over the past month, as a twin engine of institutional demand and legislative momentum roars back to life.

On the first day of May alone, $630 million poured into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, extending a two-month winning streak that made April the best month since October, DefiLlama data shows.

ETF inflows have become the dominant force behind Bitcoin’s ascent, Max Kahn, CEO of investment adviser Digital Wealth Partners, told DL News. They now act as “an increasingly important source of consistent buying pressure,” helping the asset hold higher levels as long as institutional appetite remains intact.

The institutional surge comes as Washington closes in on a legislative breakthrough. Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott told Fox Business on Friday that the Clarity Act — the landmark digital asset market structure bill — is heading for a bipartisan markup in May and a Senate floor vote soon after.

‘Red zone’

"We're in the red zone," Scott said, signalling the bill is nearing the Senate floor and that each procedural step strips away regulatory fog that has long restrained institutional capital.

“I just want to have thirteen of thirteen Republicans on board,” he said. “That makes it easier for us to have a bipartisan markup – in May is my hope – and we’ll get this thing to the floor of the Senate.”

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, is already ahead of the curve. Shares of Strategy…