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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are soaring, and backers have suggested that President Trump deserves much of the credit.Credit…Kevin Wurm/Reuters

Bitcoin’s march to new heights is going strong: It is trading above $122,000 on Monday, having more than doubled year on year. (Among other things, that’s made Satoshi Nakamoto, the token’s pseudonymous creator, one of the wealthiest people on the planet.)

The steep rise of Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency around, is further testament to the industry’s good fortunes in the Trump era. That could continue as the House — where leading Republicans have nicknamed this week “crypto week” — is set to take up legislation aimed at making America a haven for digital currency.

What the House is considering:

• The GENIUS Act, which seeks to regulate so-called stablecoins and which the Senate has already passed;
• The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which is meant to outline a clear system for regulating cryptocurrencies, including by defining the roles of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the S.E.C. in overseeing digital tokens;
• And the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would forbid the Fed to create its own digital currency.

Republicans say that their efforts are aimed at nurturing a fast-growing industry, one that faced strict scrutiny under the Biden administration. “We are taking historic steps to ensure the United States remains the world’s leader in innovation,” Representative French Hill of Arkansas, the chair of the House financial services committee, said in a statement.

Such an endorsement is powering the run of Bitcoin, as well as of other digital currencies like ether, XRP and Solana, as mainstream investors and institutions rush to get a piece of the action. Bloomberg notes that U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds had more than $2.7 billion in inflows last week, one of their best periods of performance since they debuted last year.

Skepticism about crypto remains, however. The industry strongly backed President Trump and Republicans in last year’s elections, and critics say it is now enjoying the rewards for its political bet.

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