Bitcoin rose above $80,000 for the first time in roughly 100 days, trading near $80,700 after climbing from about $64,000 a week earlier. The move, which briefly delivered a weekly gain of about 25%, spread quickly across major cryptocurrencies and coincided with renewed inflows into U.S. spot crypto ETFs, a sharp short-liquidation event, and a cluster of U.S. policy developments.
The rally pushed Ether through several resistance levels and kept it near $2,500. ETH’s strength against Bitcoin also improved, with the ETH/BTC ratio briefly reaching 0.0334, its highest level since February. Solana returned above $100, while HYPE climbed above $83 to a record high, according to the market figures provided.
Market sentiment moved almost as quickly as prices. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index reached 74, near its “extreme greed” category and its highest reading since December 2024. Such readings tend to accompany stronger demand and rising momentum, though they can also indicate that traders are becoming more exposed after a rapid advance.
Etf inflows return as prices recover
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.92 billion in net inflows during the week ending Aug. 21, according to the weekly ETF flow figures provided. The total was described as the largest weekly intake since the market’s October 2025 peak.
Including spot Ether ETFs, combined weekly net inflows reached $2.6 billion. Trading volume in those products was about three times higher than in prior weeks, marking the strongest pace of inflows in roughly 10 months.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust remained a major recipient of allocations, with cumulative net inflows surpassing $62 billion. The fund’s scale has made it a central route for U.S. institutions and wealth managers seeking Bitcoin exposure through conventional brokerage accounts.
ETF demand does not account for every move in the underlying market, particularly during periods of intense derivatives activity. Yet the return of large net inflows gives the rally a spot-market component that differs from a move driven solely by perpetual futures speculation.
Short liquidations amplified the initial surge
The Kobeissi Letter reported that about $3.5 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours as Bitcoin accelerated higher. More than 90% of those liquidations were tied to short positions, meaning traders who had bet on falling prices were forced to buy assets back as markets rose.
That process can create a rapid feedback loop. When Bitcoin moves above heavily watched resistance levels, short sellers may close positions voluntarily or face exchange liquidation rules. Their purchases add to demand, which can trigger additional liquidations at higher prices.
The move above $80,000 appears to have been shaped in part by this dynamic. Liquidations can explain the speed of an advance, but they do not by themselves establish a durable price floor. Sustained gains would depend more heavily on continued spot buying, ETF demand and the willingness of holders to absorb profit-taking supply.
Open interest in crypto futures had also fallen sharply from a reported peak of $21 billion earlier in the year. Lower open interest generally means fewer outstanding leveraged contracts, reducing the immediate risk of another large liquidation cascade. It does not, on its own, show whether institutions or retail traders are setting the market’s daily direction.
Profit-taking emerges after the breakout
CryptoQuant said Bitcoin had traded below the short-term holder cost basis of roughly $68,700 before reclaiming that level during the rally. The metric estimates the average acquisition price for coins held for less than about 155 days and is often watched as a gauge of newer holders’ profitability.
After Bitcoin moved higher, short-term holders transferred 43,300 BTC in profit to exchanges, according to CryptoQuant. The firm described it as the largest profitable transfer by this group recorded in 2026. Its short-term holder spent output profit ratio, or SOPR, rose to 1.01, the highest level since April.
A SOPR reading above 1 indicates that coins moving on-chain are, on average, being sold at a profit. That does not mean all transferred Bitcoin will be sold immediately, but large exchange transfers from profitable holders can increase the supply available to the market near major resistance levels.
The $85,000 to $90,000 area has emerged in market commentary as the next upside zone to watch. On the downside, the $65,000 to $69,000 region aligns with the 200-day moving average and the short-term holder cost basis cited by CryptoQuant, placing it near an area where buyers previously reappeared.
Washington policy developments add to the backdrop
Three U.S. developments occurred around the rally. On Aug. 19, President Donald Trump held a White House meeting with cryptocurrency industry executives and leaders from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to the supplied account of the meeting.
Trump called on Congress to pass what he described as a “fair version” of the CLARITY Act, legislation intended to define regulatory responsibilities for digital assets. He also said the United States had discussed accumulating substantial quantities of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as reserves.
The SEC separately released a proposal on Aug. 18 titled “Crypto Asset Regulation Norms,” according to the materials provided. The draft outlined two exemption tracks: a startup route allowing up to $5 million over four years and a broader route permitting up to $75 million annually, alongside disclosure principles and a safe-harbor structure.
The U.S. Treasury also said it would expand liquidity-support buybacks of long-dated Treasuries. Beginning Sept. 9, buyback operations for 10-year to 30-year securities would increase from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation.
Treasury buybacks are intended to support market functioning in government debt and should not be treated as a direct injection of new money into crypto or other risk assets. Their effect on Bitcoin would depend on broader interest-rate expectations, dollar liquidity and risk appetite rather than the buyback announcement alone.
With the Crypto Fear & Greed Index near extreme-greed territory and short-term holders sending profitable coins toward exchanges, the market faces a more demanding test above $80,000 than it did during the short-covering burst that carried it there.
Wondering what’s next for BTC after this breakout? Explore our outlook in this Bitcoin market analysis now.
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