Zcash leads as Bitcoin holds near $87K while Washington and falling oil lift crypto sentiment
ZEC rises 10% during Asian hours; bitcoin steady and the SBR bill clears committee.
Illustration · generated, not a photograph
Zcash (ZEC) was the strongest performer among major cryptocurrencies Wednesday morning in Asia, rising 10% to roughly $1,616, according to CoinDesk data. Bitcoin traded near $86,900, up about 1% from 24 hours earlier.
XRP gained 6% to around $1.62, while HYPE added 4% to nearly $97 and DOGE rose 4%. Ether, BNB and SOL each moved up less than 1%. Tron (TRX) was the only sizeable token in the red, down 1%.
Analysts credited two developments in Washington for the upbeat mood, they told CoinDesk. On Sept. 17, the House Financial Services Committee passed the American Reserve Modernization Act by 28-21, sending it to a full House vote for the first time.
The second catalyst came from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With the CLARITY Act stalled in Congress, the regulator used an innovation exemption to clear the way for onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks within a day — a move that lifted tokenization-related tokens and boosted overall confidence, according to Tony Dicarlo, director of institutional propositions at RootstockLabs.
“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,” Dicarlo told CoinDesk in an email. He also noted that bitcoin has climbed about 29% in 35 days and is back above its 50- and 200-week moving averages.
Dicarlo added that the committee approval of the American Reserve Modernization Act “has also reignited the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve conversation again, the furthest such a bill has gotten in Congress,” while acknowledging it still needs votes in both chambers.
The bill would place the roughly 325,000 bitcoin the government already holds — mostly seized in criminal and civil forfeitures — into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve at the Treasury. It would require those coins to be held for at least 20 years and mandate quarterly audited proof of their existence. The legislation also directs a study on ways to buy more bitcoin without increasing the deficit.
Beyond crypto, bond markets rallied across Asia as oil prices continued to slide. Australian and New Zealand 10-year yields each fell at least three basis points, and 10-year Treasury futures climbed; cash Treasuries were closed for a Japanese holiday.
Brent crude dropped under 1% to about $99 a barrel, marking a sixth straight losing session — the longest streak in a year. The decline followed President Donald Trump saying U.S. officials held a “very good” meeting with Iranian envoys in New York, renewing Washington's push to end the conflict. Separately, the Bank of Japan raised rates last week on a 7-2 vote, a split wide enough that traders read it as a slow path ahead; the yen has weakened since, keeping Japanese borrowing cheap and leaving the money that funds risk trades flowing rather than draining.
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