A continued decline in oil prices reduced inflation concerns across Asian markets, while U.S. lawmakers advanced legislation that could formally establish the government’s existing bitcoin holdings as a permanent reserve.
Zcash (ZEC) led major cryptocurrencies on Wednesday, rising 10% to above $1,616 during Asian trading hours, according to CoinDesk data.
Bitcoin traded near $86,900, up 1% over 24 hours. XRP gained 6% to above $1.62, while HYPE rose 4% to nearly $97. DOGE advanced 4%, while ether, BNB and SOL each added less than 1%. TRX moved against the broader trend, falling 1%.
Two developments in Washington helped support market sentiment, according to analysts. The House Financial Services Committee approved the American Reserve Modernization Act on Sept. 17 in a 28-21 vote, bringing the proposal closer to consideration by the full House.
The legislation is also gaining attention as the Securities and Exchange Commission moves ahead on tokenized securities while the CLARITY Act remains stalled. The SEC used an innovation exemption to open a route for onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks within 24 hours, according to Tony Dicarlo of RootstockLabs. He said the move has helped lift tokenization-focused digital assets and improve broader sentiment toward the sector.
“Technically, Bitcoin’s back above its 50 & 200 week moving averages, up ~29% in 35 days,” Dicarlo, director of institutional propositions at RootstockLabs, said in an email to CoinDesk.
“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,” he said.
Dicarlo also highlighted the American Reserve Modernization Act, saying its committee passage has brought the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve debate back into focus. The proposal has advanced further through Congress than previous bills of its kind, although it still requires votes in both the full House and Senate.
The bill would transfer about 325,000 bitcoin currently held by the U.S. government into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve under the Treasury. Most of those coins were obtained through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings. The proposal would require the holdings to remain in the reserve for a minimum of 20 years and require quarterly audits confirming that the bitcoin remains in government custody.
It would also call for a study examining ways to purchase additional bitcoin without increasing the federal deficit.
Broader markets also benefited from falling energy prices. Asian bonds gained as crude continued to retreat, with Australian and New Zealand 10-year yields declining by at least three basis points. Ten-year U.S. Treasury futures also rose, while cash Treasury trading was closed for a Japanese holiday.
Brent crude slipped below 1% to roughly $99 a barrel, marking a sixth consecutive daily decline and its longest losing streak in a year. The move followed President Donald Trump’s comments that U.S. officials had a “very good” meeting with Iranian representatives in New York as Washington sought renewed progress toward ending the conflict.
Japan’s central bank raised rates last week by a 7-2 vote. Traders interpreted the split as indicating that the pace of additional tightening could remain gradual. The yen has weakened since the decision, helping maintain relatively inexpensive borrowing costs in Japan and supporting the flow of capital into risk-oriented trades.
