Bitcoin reaches two-month high as Coinbase backs away from Senate crypto bill

Bitcoin climbed to a fresh two-month high near $96,750, giving crypto investors another green day across the largest tokens. The bigger policy story came from Coinbase, which withdrew support for a Senate crypto market structure bill ahead of a key vote and cited serious concerns with the latest draft.

A market structure bill is legislation that sets the rules for how assets trade and which regulators oversee them. For crypto, that matters because the line between securities regulation and commodities regulation can affect exchanges, token issuers and investors who use those platforms.

Coinbase’s change in position was followed by the Senate delaying the bill, according to the reported sequence of events. The delay puts more uncertainty around Washington’s effort to create a clearer rulebook for digital assets.

Bitcoin leads a green session

Bitcoin rose 2% to about $96,750, marking another two-month high. Ether also gained 2% to $3,360, while Solana was flat at $145. XRP slipped 1% to $2.11.

Among the stronger movers, Decred rose 30%, Dash gained 10%, Internet Computer advanced 10% and Zcash added 7%. Monero touched a new all-time high of $800 before pulling back to $725.

Those moves show a market with strength beyond Bitcoin, though the gains were not spread evenly. For retail investors, that distinction matters: headline crypto rallies can hide very different price action across individual tokens.

Zcash, Ripple and stablecoins make news

The Zcash Foundation said the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into Zcash has ended. Following that conclusion, Zcash avoided SEC action, according to the Foundation.

Ripple continued its push into Europe by securing a license in Luxembourg. The license adds to Ripple’s regional expansion as crypto firms look for regulated entry points into European markets.

Pakistan also teamed with World Liberty Financial to study stablecoin uses for remittances and cross-border payments. A stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a steady value, often by tracking a currency such as the U.S. dollar. In payments, the pitch is that stablecoins can move value across borders faster or with fewer intermediaries than some traditional systems.

The Human Rights Foundation awarded nearly $1.3 million in Bitcoin grants to projects connected to human rights and freedom technology. Bitcoin grants are funding awards paid in Bitcoin rather than traditional currency.

FTX payments and Sui reliability stay in focus

Figure unveiled a public equity network intended to support on-chain issuance of stocks and related assets. On-chain issuance means ownership records or transactions are recorded on a blockchain instead of only through traditional market infrastructure.

FTX prepared another round of creditor payments and provided timing details for the next distribution on March 31. The update matters to former customers and creditors still waiting for recoveries from the failed exchange.

Sui returned online after a network stall that lasted nearly six hours. The outage marked another reliability test for the blockchain, since users and developers depend on networks staying available for transactions and applications.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.