Bitcoin rises 4%, CLARITY Act and hacking incidents dominate the crypto market for a week

Summary

The cryptocurrency market closed up this week despite a decline in the U.S. stock market. Bitcoin rose 4.16%, and the total market value of cryptocurrencies rose 2.30% to US$2.22 trillion. The probability of passage of the CLARITY bill has improved despite resistance in terms of ethics, enforcement powers and political conflicts. The cross-chain bridge attack caused AFX and Allbridge to lose money, while BitMEX plans to close the exchange in September. Market summary shows that the total market value of cryptocurrencies reached US$2.22 trillion, Bitcoin rose 4.16%, and Ethereum rose 2.98%. The S & P 500 index fell 0.53%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was basically flat. Altcoins also showed selective gains this week.

Bitcoin leads gains, policies return to focus

Bitcoin and Ethereum lead market recovery, and traders focus on the latest U.S. market structure bill. On July 22, Senator Cynthia Loomis released an updated version of the CLARITY bill, which integrates the work of the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees. The draft covers regulatory agency responsibilities, developer protection, stablecoin rules, ethics, anti-money laundering controls and enforcement provisions. Loomis called the next few weeks the "last real opportunity" to pass the bill in years. However, Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats criticized its moral language and law enforcement structure. It has been previously reported that disputes over political conflicts, decentralized financial protection and criminal investigations have repeatedly delayed the bill's progress, although market estimates of its probability of passage have increased.

Corporate balance sheet activity also adds signals. Strategy increased its U.S. dollar reserves by $225 million to approximately $3.2 billion by selling common stock while holding 843,775 bitcoins. The reserve is used for dividends on preferred shares and interest on debt, rather than new Bitcoin purchases.

Shutdowns and project changes reshape the industry landscape

BitMEX announced that it will close at 04:00 UTC on September 23 after a review of its business and the broader market. The derivatives platform has stopped registering new users and will block new positions from August 26. Users can reduce their positions and withdraw assets before the final shutdown. The closure ends 11 years of operation on the platform, which has helped popularize perpetual contracts and highly leveraged crypto derivatives. There have been reports that BitMEX replaced senior managers in June, while rumors of a possible sale continue. The shutdown has put more pressure on small and medium-sized centralized exchanges that are competing for liquidity and paying higher compliance costs.

Other projects have also changed direction. Project updates show that Hyperliquid lists markets for HIP-4 results that do not require licensing and require pledge support of 500,000 HYPE. Pump.fun introduced the BOOST model for new releases, and ENS DAO activated a two-year security committee with the power to block transactions deemed malicious.

Bridging attacks bring security risks back into view

Multiple cross-chain systems were attacked. AFX Trade lost approximately $24.15 million in USDC, and the attacker obtained enough verifier signatures to approve bridge withdrawals. Arbitrum said the attack did not affect its native bridges. AFX is suspended and investigators are reviewing the compromised signature settings. Allbridge also suspended core bridging after a $1.65 million credit flash attack on Solana's liquidity pool. The attacker manipulated the balance in the pool, extracted assets at favorable exchange rates, and transferred the proceeds to Ethereum. Across Protocol suffered another Solana incident, but the project party said the damage affected repeaters operated by Risk Labs, not user funds. It then restored Solana deposits. These incidents once again place bridge design and key management at the heart of DeFi security. There have been previous reports that attacks continue to occur in 2026, including losses involving Kelp DAO and Axelar routes related to the Secret Network.

Institutional capital and tokenization continue to expand

Institutional trading provides an alternative market narrative. Crypto.com announced that it has received a $400 million investment from Citadel Securities, valued at $20 billion. The company said it will use the funds to expand tokenized securities, derivatives and other asset classes and build a 24/7 financial platform. S & P Dow Jones Indices and Pantera Capital jointly launched the S & P Pantera Digital Assets Index. The benchmark uses a rules-based approach that focuses on productive blockchain assets and companies with measurable uses or revenue, rather than relying solely on token popularity or price momentum. At the same time, xStocks increased its tokenized exposure to Hong Kong-listed stocks through Payward and GTN, surpassing U.S. stocks. The companies plan to consider UK, European and South Korean securities after obtaining the required approvals. The value and trading activity of tokenized stocks expand as exchanges and traditional institutions build round-the-clock products.

This week the market showed a rebound coexisting with pending policy discussions, security breaches and infrastructure investments. Bitcoin and Ethereum closed higher, but stronger prices did not eliminate operational risks. The next round of market testing will depend on the progress of the CLARITY bill in the Senate, the response to bridging attacks, and whether agency funds can be converted into continued trading and settlement activity. Traders will also pay close attention to funding rates and liquidation pressures.