Bitcoin steadied on Wednesday, taking mild support from U.S. President Donald Trump calling for better regulatory support for the cryptocurrency industry.
But persistent concerns over the U.S.-Iran conflict and its inflationary effects kept crypto prices largely under pressure, while also stifling a short-lived recovery in the sector.
Bitcoin was flat at $68,147.8 by 01:30 ET (06:30 GMT). The world’s largest crypto rebounded to $69,000 this week, before trimming its gains.
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Trump criticizes banks over undermining stablecoin act, stalling CLARITY bill Trump in a social media post on Tuesday evening criticized major U.S. banks for attempting to undermine the GENIUS act– which regulates stablecoins– by stalling the passage of another key regulatory bill– the CLARITY act– in the U.S. Senate.
“Banks are hitting record profits, and we are not going to allow them to undermine our powerful Crypto Agenda that will end up going to China, and other Countries if we don’t get The Clarity Act taken care of,” Trump said.
“The Banks should not be trying to undercut The Genius Act, or hold The Clarity Act hostage. They need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry,” the president said.
A Politico report said Trump had privately met with Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong just before issuing his post. Armstrong has largely opposed a ban on stablecoin yield payments.
The GENIUS act was passed by Congress in June 2025 to regulate stablecoins, with the act banning stablecoin issuers such as Tether from directly paying yields to holders.
But third-party platforms such as crypto exchanges are still allowed to offer yields to stablecoin holders– a feature that major banking groups have criticized as a loophole.
Banking groups were seen pushing to include a ban on all stablecoin yield payments in a separate crypto regulatory act– CLARITY– which is intended to establish a crypto market structure.
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in July, but is yet to be approved by the Senate. Disputes over the yield ban have been a major part of this delay, with major banks arguing that yield payments on stablecoins should face the same regulatory treatment as interest payments by banks.
Crypto price today: altcoins dither as Iran tensions persist Broader crypto prices moved in a tight range on Wednesday, as despite some optimism over U.S. regulations, risk appetite remained largely quashed by continued geopolitical unrest in the Middle East.
Reports showed the U.S., Israel, and Iran conflict entering its fifth consecutive day on Wednesday, with hostilities against Tehran remaining largely in play.
Anxiety over the conflict’s inflationary effects– especially as it stands to disrupt global oil supplies– were a major weight on markets, amid growing concerns that sticky inflation will elicit hawkish moves from major global central banks.
