Bitcoin breaks $120,000 as 'Crypto Week' begins in Washington

The price of Bitcoin charged past $120,000 early Monday morning as House Republicans take up related bills in a week they've dubbed “Crypto Week.” 

The leading cryptocurrency exceeded $122,000 before dipping slightly below all-time highs. The token was just above $121,000 as of 11 a.m. ET.

The House of Representatives will review three bills — the Clarity, CBDC, and Genius acts — during the crypto-themed week to “make America the crypto capital of the world,” a press release said.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would increase the scope of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, potentially leading to many tokens being treated as commodities instead of securities. The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act would block the creation of a digital dollar. And the Genius Act would regulate stablecoins — a type of token pegged (at least in theory) to more conventional assets, such as the U.S. dollar.

“[We] are advancing landmark legislation to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets that safeguards consumers and investors, provides rules for the issuance and operation of dollar-backed payment stablecoins, and permanently blocks the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency [...],” said House Committee on Financial Services Chairman French Hill in a prepared statement. 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in the release that House Republicans are working to fulfill "President Trump’s digital assets and cryptocurrency agenda.”

Some Democrats are referring to this week’s deliberations as the “Anti-Crypto Corruption Week,” calling the three proposed acts “dangerous.”   

“Aside from lacking urgently needed consumer protections and national security guardrails, these bills would make Congress complicit in Trump’s unprecedented crypto scam – one that has personally enriched himself, his entire family, and the billionaire insiders in his cabinet, all while defrauding investors,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement.

In March, President Donald Trump announced plans to create a strategic crypto reserve, shifting gears from his earlier promise to stockpile Bitcoin. Bitcoin would be among the cryptocurrencies in Trump’s reserve. After the president’s announcement, Bitcoin fell $10,000 in a single day. 

Bitcoin also surpassed records last week, hitting a high of $113,450 on Thursday and $118,739 on Friday. 

-Vinamrata Chaturvedi contributed to this article.