Clear Street Analyst Sees Crypto Market Inflection Point as Policy, Institutional Developments Accelerate

Clear Street analyst Owen Lau said in a Wednesday note that the roughly 44% crypto market drawdown between Oct. 10 and Feb. 28 may mark the end of the latest downturn, citing accelerating policy, infrastructure and institutional developments. Bitcoin rose 8% in the past 24 hours to just above $73,000, with Lau noting U.S. President Donald Trump's Tuesday intervention increased the likelihood of Congressional passage of the CLARITY Act by summer's end. He pointed to Kraken's banking subsidiary obtaining a Federal Reserve master account as a structural step toward integrating crypto-native institutions into the U.S. financial system, and highlighted Morgan Stanley amending a filing for a proposed spot bitcoin ETF to add Coinbase Custody as co-custodian alongside Bank of New York Mellon. Lau said heightened Middle East geopolitical tensions have underscored blockchain networks as alternative payment rails during financial disruption, and these factors together may indicate an industry inflection point.