Coinbase stock jumps 8% as Trump backs CLARITY Act, crypto rally builds

Coinbase shares surged 8% in premarket trading Thursday as a sharp rebound in cryptocurrency prices combined with renewed support from the Trump administration for industry regulation.

The move came after President Donald Trump met with senior cryptocurrency executives at the White House, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and called on Congress to pass the CLARITY Act.

The rally also followed the US Treasury Department’s decision to expand buyback operations for longer-dated government securities in an attempt to support market liquidity and ease rising borrowing costs.

At the same time, a wave of forced liquidations across the crypto market intensified the rally.

Bitcoin climbed above $70,000 for the first time since early June, while several major altcoins posted even larger gains.

The combination gave crypto-related equities a fresh boost after a period of weakness, with Coinbase emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries because of its direct exposure to trading activity and digital-asset prices.

Strategy, Bitmine Immersion Technology, Circle all gained.

“The move towards $70,000, triggered by short-covering, suggests buyers are regaining confidence, although the rally now faces a crucial test of whether it can sustain momentum and challenge the $75,000 region,” said Axel Rudolph, chief technical analyst at investing and trading platform IG.

Trump pushes Congress on CLARITY Act

Trump's meeting with crypto executives provided an important policy catalyst for the crypto trade.

The CLARITY Act is designed to establish clearer definitions for digital assets, including determining which tokens should be classified as securities and which should be treated as commodities.

It would also clarify the respective regulatory roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

For crypto businesses such as Coinbase, the legislation could reduce one of the industry's biggest challenges: uncertainty over which rules apply to different digital assets.

Trump urged lawmakers to advance what he described as a "fair version of the Clarity Act", as the legislation remains stalled in the Senate with limited time remaining on the congressional calendar.

"Now we need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act — fair version of the Clarity Act," Trump said in remarks at the event.

Armstrong has separately forecast a bipartisan congressional vote on the legislation on September 15, 2026.

He has suggested that passage could help set the stage for another crypto market rally in October.

Several other industry executives attended the White House event, including Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi and Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins, CFTC Chair Mike Selig and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt also participated.

Record liquidations amplify crypto rally

According to CoinGlass data, about $3.3 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency positions were liquidated over a 24-hour period.

Short positions accounted for approximately $3 billion of those liquidations.

Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for much of the activity, with about $1.15 billion and $1.73 billion of positions liquidated.

The forced unwinding of bearish bets can accelerate price increases because traders whose positions move against them are required to buy assets to close their trades.

Those purchases can push prices higher and trigger further liquidations.

Bitcoin's move above $70,000 therefore became an important psychological milestone for the market, potentially encouraging additional institutional and retail participation.

But Bitcoin was not the strongest performer among major cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum rose nearly 20% over 24 hours to about $2,200, according to CoinGecko.

XRP climbed more than 15%, while Solana gained more than 13%.

The scale of the liquidation event made it the largest of 2026 and the third-largest crypto liquidation event over the past year, according to the data provided.

Regulatory momentum builds beyond Trump meeting

The White House summit came as US regulators also move toward clearer rules for digital assets.

The SEC on Tuesday proposed long-awaited rules that would exempt certain token offerings from securities regulations, potentially making it easier for crypto companies to issue tokens and raise capital.

The CFTC is also scheduled to discuss cryptocurrency regulation at an industry gathering on Thursday.

That regulatory activity could prove particularly important for Coinbase, which has repeatedly argued that clearer rules would allow crypto companies to operate with greater certainty in the US.

The exchange's fortunes are closely tied to trading activity across the cryptocurrency market, meaning stronger prices and higher transaction volumes can improve investor expectations for its revenue.

However, the CLARITY Act has not yet passed Congress, meaning the regulatory catalyst remains dependent on lawmakers reaching an agreement.

For now, investors are betting on a combination of stronger crypto prices, forced short covering and the possibility of a more supportive regulatory framework.