Bitcoin Surges Past $78k as Nasdaq Eyes 23-Hour Trading

Bitcoin returned to the spotlight this week, surging from around $64,000 to above $77,000 as roughly $400 billion flowed into the crypto market. The rally coincided with the U.S. Treasury doubling planned buybacks of longer-dated debt, while improving demand indicators added to bullish sentiment.

Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. crypto legislation improved ahead of a crucial September vote, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong predicting the CLARITY Act will clear the Senate's 60-vote procedural threshold.

Elsewhere, Nasdaq outlined plans to introduce overnight trading, potentially bringing U.S. equities close to 23-hour trading from December.

1. Crypto market surges as Treasury expands debt buybacks

The crypto market rallied sharply this week, with gains extending well beyond Bitcoin. BTC climbed roughly 22% from around $64,000 to above $77,000, while Ethereum gained nearly 28%, XRP jumped more than 40%, and several other major assets posted double-digit advances. The rally added roughly $400 billion to the crypto market and forced billions of dollars in bearish positions to unwind.

The move coincided with the U.S. Treasury doubling scheduled buybacks of longer-dated debt from $2 billion to $4 billion, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicating purchases could increase further depending on market conditions. Still, not everyone sees the rally as sustainable: longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff called BTC's breakout a "fakeout," while CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said improving demand is encouraging but remains too modest to confirm a new bull cycle.

2. CLARITY Act odds rebound ahead of September vote

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said he expects the CLARITY Act to secure more than 60 votes when the Senate holds a key cloture vote on September 15. Senator Tim Scott also said the legislation has a "really good shot" of passing, helping revive expectations after weeks of delays and uncertainty.

Prediction-market odds of the bill becoming law before 2027 have recovered to 27% after falling below 20% earlier in August, although significant doubts remain. Galaxy recently put the probability of passage this year at just 10%, while unresolved questions around enforcement jurisdiction and ethics provisions could still complicate the vote.

3. Nasdaq moves toward 23-hour stock trading

Nasdaq plans to introduce an overnight trading session that would extend access to U.S. equities to roughly 23 hours per weekday. Subject to SEC approval, the exchange would add trading from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. ET, with the expanded schedule potentially beginning on December 6, 2026.

The proposal reflects growing global demand for access to U.S. stocks outside traditional market hours and follows similar offerings from retail brokerages including Robinhood and Webull. If approved, Nasdaq would move traditional equity markets closer to the near-continuous trading model already familiar to crypto investors.