Bitcoin rebounds toward $64,000 amid AI model launch and crypto‑legislation doubts
Bitcoin was trading at $63,973.7 at 05:08 ET (09:08 GMT), up about 1.72% and roughly 157% from its previous close, after moving between $62,505 and $64,287 during the session. Earlier in the week the cryptocurrency had briefly approached $65,000 following softer U.S. inflation data.
The price lift coincided with the release of the Kimi K3 model by Beijing‑based Moonshot AI. The open‑weight model, built on a 2.8‑trillion‑parameter mixture‑of‑experts architecture that activates only part of its network per task, scored 1,679 on a frontend‑coding benchmark, surpassing Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 (1,631) and OpenAI’s GPT‑5.6 (1,618). Moonshot’s prior model had ranked 18th, marking a 17‑place jump in a single release. Full model weights are scheduled for public release on July 27, allowing developers to download and run the system locally.
The AI breakthrough unsettled technology valuations by challenging the assumption that leading AI capabilities will remain scarce and costly. Bitcoin has recently moved in step with semiconductor shares, reinforcing its link to the broader AI investment cycle. The development also affects listed Bitcoin miners that have repurposed power capacity for AI and high‑performance computing; cheaper, more efficient models could reduce demand for expensive data‑centre capacity and weaken the economics of existing contracts.
Regulatory uncertainty added another headwind. Polymarket traders lowered the probability of the U.S. CLARITY Act becoming law by December 31 to a record‑low 32%, down from an 82% peak in February. Senate negotiations remain stalled over ethics provisions covering public officials’ digital‑asset interests. The bill would split oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but Congress is approaching its August recess with few legislative weeks remaining.
Separately, Ripple announced a $250,000 commitment in RLUSD‑funded grants to 25 veteran‑ and military‑spouse‑owned businesses. Each recipient will receive $10,000, employer‑training support, and access to more than 20,000 military‑connected job seekers.
Among other crypto assets, Ether rose 0.65%, XRP 0.29%, Cardano 3.31%, BNB 0.67%, Solana 0.33%, Dogecoin 0.66%, and the meme‑coin $TRUMP surged 7.01% amid thin Saturday trading.