The Clarity Act Just Cleared a Big Hurdle

Welcome back to The Warmup.

Happy Friday to everybody checking a 2021 NFT project’s discord in 2026

Here’s what we’re watching:

• Market Snapshot

• The Clarity Act Just Cleared a Big Hurdle

• BTC Meets Resistance

• Coinbase Just Gave Hyperliquid a Major Stamp of Approval

Market: Risk assets are cooling off as the dollar and volatility move higher, signaling cautious sentiment across both stocks and crypto.

The Clarity Act Just Cleared a Big Hurdle

What’s going on:

The Clarity Act passed the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 bipartisan vote.

Every Republican voted yes, and two Democrats crossed over: Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks.

Markets reacted fast: BTC hit $82K, Circle jumped 19.9%, and Coinbase gained 6.1%.

But it’s not a done deal yet.

The bill still needs 60 votes in the Senate, which means around six Democratic crossovers.

Then it needs to be reconciled with the House version before Trump can sign it.

What it means:

Crypto regulation just got a lot closer.

If this passes, the industry finally gets a clearer rulebook.

But lawmakers still need to solve the final ethics dispute before this becomes real.

BTC Meets Resistance

What’s going on:

BTC got rejected at its 200-day SMA around $82K, a major technical resistance level.

Key levels we’re watching:

• Support: $72K → key downside level

• Resistance: $82K → 200-day SMA

• Breakout target: $90K+ if BTC reclaims resistance

• Breakdown risk: Losing $72K could trigger deeper downside

Directional Bias: Cautiously bearish

BTC remains below a major trend indicator, keeping short-term momentum weak until bulls reclaim $82K.

What we’re waiting for:

• Daily close back above $82K

• Volume confirmation on any breakout

• Tight risk management below resistance

Coinbase Just Gave Hyperliquid a Major Stamp of Approval

What’s going on:

Coinbase and Circle just announced a major USDC deal with Hyperliquid.

Under the new setup, Coinbase will manage USDC reserves, Circle will handle the bridging tech, and Hyperliquid will receive most of the reserve yield.

That makes USDC the main stablecoin across Hyperliquid’s markets.

The big deal?

This is the first time Coinbase is taking this kind of formal treasury role with a major DeFi protocol.

And Hyperliquid could be the biggest winner. Early estimates suggest the deal could boost protocol revenue by around 25%.

Markets loved it too.

HYPE jumped 20% to $47, erased five days of losses, and hit a new local high.

What it means:

This is a huge validation moment for Hyperliquid.

Coinbase has its own perps business, yet it’s still partnering with one of the strongest onchain competitors.

That tells you where the market is heading: DeFi is getting too big for the biggest players to ignore.

• Strategy to retire $1.5B in convertible notes at a discount, may sell bitcoin to fund buyback

• 21Shares' Hyperliquid ETF posts 'best day' inflows of $5M as Coinbase becomes treasury deployer

• Dogecoin has 'crazy things on the horizon' as ecosystem grows beyond Elon Musk

Crypto keeps talking about “mass adoption.”

But the real opportunity may be something much bigger: becoming the financial infrastructure behind the AI economy itself.

Right now, trillions are flowing into AI chips, data centers, memory, and power infrastructure because those businesses generate real revenue and real demand.

Crypto, meanwhile, still struggles with value capture and too many tokens chasing too little utility.

The shift happens when crypto stops building products only for crypto people. Tokenized stocks, stablecoins, and onchain financing for real-world AI infrastructure could be the bridge that finally pulls capital back onchain.

And if that happens, crypto may stop competing with AI… and start powering it instead.

— The Warmup Team

Always do your own research. This newsletter is supplemental material to help educate readers as they make their own decisions. Projects mentioned here are provided to give a potential early-mover advantage.