The screen is green. Finally. If you’ve been checking your portfolio every twenty minutes since you woke up, you’re seeing Bitcoin hovering around $95,000, Ethereum pushing past $3,300, and XRP basically trying to break its own speed records.
It feels good. But why?
Honestly, the "why" isn't just one thing. It’s not just a stray Elon tweet or a random whale moving funds. We’re seeing a perfect storm of Washington politics, cooling inflation data, and a massive shift in how Wall Street treats digital assets. If you’re wondering why is crypto going up today, you have to look at the "CLARITY Act" and some surprisingly boring (but important) government reports that dropped this week.
The CLARITY Act is making the "Wild West" look civilized
The biggest catalyst right now is a piece of paper in D.C. formally known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025. Most people are calling it the CLARITY Act.
For years, crypto lived in this weird legal gray area where the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) fought over who got to be the boss. It was a mess. This new bill, which is moving through the Senate Banking Committee right now, basically says the CFTC takes the lead on digital commodities like Bitcoin.
Why does a bill matter for your wallet? Institutional money.
Big banks and pension funds hate "uncertainty." They won't touch an asset if they think a regulator might sue them tomorrow. The CLARITY Act provides a roadmap. It defines what a security is and what a commodity is. That’s why we’re seeing massive spot buying today; the big players finally feel like the floor isn't going to vanish.
Inflation isn't the monster we feared
The second reason why is crypto going up today is the latest U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. It came in at 2.7% year-over-year.
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Now, look. 2.7% isn't "zero," but it’s stable. Core CPI actually dipped slightly to 2.6%.
When inflation looks like it's behaving, investors get "risk-on." They stop hiding in cash and start looking for growth. Since Bitcoin is often viewed as "digital gold" or a hedge against the dollar losing value, this steady inflation data gives traders the green light to buy. It also makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later in 2026. Lower rates usually mean higher crypto prices. Simple as that.
A massive short squeeze
Markets aren't just driven by logic; they're driven by people getting forced out of their bets.
In the last 24 hours, over $591 million in crypto short positions were liquidated. Basically, a bunch of traders bet that the price would go down. When the price started ticking up instead, their positions were automatically closed—which means they had to buy back the crypto they borrowed.
This creates a "squeeze." The more the price goes up, the more short-sellers have to buy, which pushes the price even higher. It’s a vicious cycle if you’re a bear, but it’s a rocket ship if you’re holding.
Why Bitcoin is leading the charge
Bitcoin is currently sitting at roughly 57% to 59% market dominance. It’s the king for a reason.
We’ve seen $1.8 billion in ETF inflows just in the last four days. BlackRock’s IBIT is doing the heavy lifting here. It’s no longer just "crypto bros" buying; it’s your dentist's retirement fund and corporate treasuries. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy is still buying. When the supply on exchanges drops to a five-year low—which it just did, hitting around 2.94 million BTC—and demand stays high, the price has nowhere to go but up.
Ethereum and the "Altcoin" ripple effect
While Bitcoin gets the headlines, Ethereum is quietly gaining steam. It’s back above $3,300 because network activity is actually picking up. People are using DeFi (Decentralized Finance) again.
And then there's XRP. It’s been the talk of the town, trading around $2.06 with people eyeing a massive breakout. The sentiment is shifting because the legal battles that haunted Ripple for years are finally feeling like yesterday's news.
Don't ignore the risks
It's not all sunshine and moon missions. There are still hurdles.
- The "Stablecoin Loophole": Some senators are worried that crypto companies paying interest on stablecoins could hurt traditional banks. They want to ban those "rewards," which could slow down adoption.
- Political Gridlock: With the 2026 midterm elections looming, there’s a chance the CLARITY Act gets stuck in partisan bickering.
- Short-term Overheating: The RSI (Relative Strength Index) is climbing. In plain English? The market might be getting a little too excited, too fast. A "correction" or a slight dip is almost inevitable after a run like this.
What you should actually do now
If you’re looking at these prices and wondering if you missed the boat, take a breath. FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a terrible investment strategy.
First, look at the volume. High volume on a breakout usually means the move is real, not a "fakeout." Today’s volume reached $139 billion, which is massive. That suggests there's real conviction behind this move.
Second, watch the $98,000 level for Bitcoin. That’s the next big wall. If it breaks that, $100,000 isn't just a meme anymore—it's a mathematical probability.
Third, pay attention to the Senate Banking Committee's debate this week. If the CLARITY Act survives the amendment process without being gutted, that’s your long-term bullish signal.
The reason why is crypto going up today is a mix of maturing regulation and a macroeconomic sigh of relief. We are moving away from the "speculative bubble" era and into what analysts are calling the "Institutional Maturity" phase of 2026. Keep your eyes on the data, not just the hype.
To get a better sense of where your specific coins are headed, check the current "Fear & Greed Index." It’s currently in the mid-40s to low-50s. This means the market isn't actually "greedy" yet—it's just recovering. There might be more room to run before things get truly overheated. Monitor the resistance levels at $96,500 for BTC and $3,450 for ETH to see if this momentum has legs for the weekend.