The crypto market scored a major win on May 14 as the CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee after months of debate over its provisions. The bill passed 15-9, with two Democratic senators voting in support, giving it bipartisan credibility.
Within an hour of the approval, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) moved to around $81,500, while XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) broke through the $1.44-$1.45 resistance zone to trade at $1.50 before falling back to $1.46. With two weeks left in May, traders are watching whether both assets can sustain momentum and push even higher before the month’s end.
We examined how the Bitcoin and XRP prices have performed on the back of positive regulatory trends to determine their outlook for the rest of May.
How Bitcoin and XRP Have Historically Performed After Major Pro-Crypto Regulatory Developments
Bitcoin has not faced the same level of regulatory uncertainty as XRP. Instead, most pro-crypto policy developments around BTC have focused on institutional acceptance and ETF approval.
The clearest example of regulatory progress driving Bitcoin’s price was the SEC approval of the U.S. BTC ETFs on January 10, 2024. The ETFs began officially trading on January 11, and BTC traded between $41,000-$46,000 in that month before rallying to $70,000 by March 30.
Another major milestone was in March 2025 when the U.S. government announced its creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. During that period, Bitcoin traded between $80,000 and $90,000 before rallying to $110,000 by late May and hitting its $126,000 ATH by October. The Bitcoin Reserve is now estimated to hold about 328,000 BTC, valued at over $26.7 billion—strengthening investor confidence in Bitcoin’s legitimacy.
On the other hand, XRP has performed better after regulatory progress. On July 13, 2023, a U.S. judge ruled that XRP wasn’t a security in secondary market sales, and the coin surged from $0.47 to $0.88 that same day—representing roughly an 87.2% upside. The ruling rebuilt investors’ confidence, and XRP reached a cycle high of $3.65 in July 2025—one month before the SEC appeal was dismissed and Ripple paid a $50 million settlement.
In March 2026, a joint SEC and CFTC statement classified Bitcoin, XRP, and fourteen other cryptos as digital commodities rather than securities. After this announcement, Bitcoin traded $72,000-$74,000, while XRP moved $1.44-$1.54 that same day. Overall, XRP reacts more to pro-crypto regulatory developments than Bitcoin, but the real question is whether history will repeat itself as the CLARITY Act moves to the Senate floor.
Where Bitcoin and XRP Could Trade by Month-End if Regulatory Momentum Continues
If the CLARITY Act maintains bipartisan momentum, and news develops around the date for the Senate vote, Bitcoin and XRP could see further upside, but the pace and structure of their moves remain very different.
Bitcoin
Since the CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee, Bitcoin’s reaction has been measured rather than explosive, trading mostly between $80,500 and $81,500. The market hasn’t entered a full repricing cycle, and historically, developments like this typically take months to fully price into Bitcoin.
At best, if discussions around the CLARITY Act continue and daily ETF inflows stay above $300 million, Bitcoin could attempt to break above $85,000 within the remaining two weeks in May. But for Bitcoin to hold above that level, the CLARITY Act needs to clear the full Senate.
XRP
XRP briefly traded above $1.50 after the announcement before retracing to $1.46. If momentum continues and XRP reclaims $1.50, the next key resistance level to watch is the $1.80 mark—a level last tested on January 30. XRP has a clear 20% path to $1.80 if the CLARITY Act’s news dominates market conversations and buying pressure absorbs the selling wave that’d hit the market when holders take profits over the next two weeks.
News about a Senate vote date before the month ends could further drive momentum, with XRP reclaiming the $2 mark. But sustaining above that level requires consistent XRP ETF inflows and more Ripple partnership announcements.
Can the CLARITY Act Trigger the Next Leg Higher for Bitcoin and XRP?
The CLARITY Act has improved market sentiment, but its short-term impact may be more psychological than structural. While the bill has cleared the Senate Banking Committee, it is unlikely to fully pass the Senate within the next two weeks—leaving the market in a middle ground of expectations that it will happen soon.
For XRP, the most important thing is reclaiming and holding above $1.50 in the coming days. This would be a key signal that the coin is set to rally as it would be overcoming a major resistance that has capped its performance for most of the year. That momentum alone could push XRP toward $1.80 by the end of May.
For Bitcoin, the reaction is slower as history shows that the asset breaks out weeks after positive regulatory developments. Bitcoin is likely to remain above $81,000 over the next two weeks, but sustained buying pressure and continued ETF inflows could see the asset retest $85,000.
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