Crypto Rally: Bitcoin Nears $87,000 as Bull Market Makes a Comeback
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The crypto market is going through its strongest stretch in months. Bitcoin is trading at around $86,500 after gaining almost 14 percent in a single week. Some altcoins are climbing even faster, led by NEAR Protocol, Uniswap and Bitcoin Cash. Some market watchers are already calling a return of the bull market, while others urge caution.
Bitcoin Hits Its Highest Level Since January
Early in the week, Bitcoin briefly touched $87,330 and is currently hovering just below that mark. That puts the largest cryptocurrency at its highest level since January. The recovery is remarkable: at the end of June, the price had dropped below $60,000, and it has risen by almost 50 percent since then. According to finanzen.net, August was the strongest month since 2017, with a gain of 23 percent.
Bitcoin is still about 30 percent below its all-time high of $126,080, which it reached last October. Ethereum is moving up as well: the second-largest cryptocurrency is trading at just over $2,750, up almost 15 percent on the week. The CoinMarketCap 20 Index, which tracks the 20 largest crypto assets, has gained more than 15 percent over seven days.
The Largest Crypto Assets at a Glance
| # | Crypto Asset | Price (USD) | 24h | 7 Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bitcoin (BTC) | 86,456.25 | +1.28% | +13.92% |
| 2 | Ethereum (ETH) | 2,754.12 | +0.91% | +14.82% |
| 3 | Tether (USDT) | 0.9998 | +0.01% | +0.07% |
| 4 | BNB (BNB) | 791.26 | +0.52% | +11.04% |
| 5 | XRP (XRP) | 1.62 | +7.06% | +25.98% |
| 6 | USDC (USDC) | 0.9999 | +0.01% | 0.00% |
| 7 | Solana (SOL) | 118.91 | +1.95% | +22.45% |
| 8 | TRON (TRX) | 0.3439 | -1.40% | +2.70% |
| 9 | Zcash (ZEC) | 1,618.42 | +8.27% | +37.06% |
| 10 | Hyperliquid (HYPE) | 97.19 | +3.13% | +25.77% |
| 11 | Dogecoin (DOGE) | 0.1022 | +2.19% | +27.82% |
| 12 | Monero (XMR) | 570.45 | -1.02% | +12.48% |
| 13 | Chainlink (LINK) | 13.05 | +0.81% | +21.11% |
| 14 | Cardano (ADA) | 0.2586 | +5.23% | +32.57% |
| 15 | UNUS SED LEO (LEO) | 8.98 | +0.15% | +1.15% |
| 16 | Stellar (XLM) | 0.2214 | +4.38% | +25.67% |
| 17 | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | 345.18 | +30.07% | +56.88% |
| 18 | Uniswap (UNI) | 10.43 | +17.53% | +66.31% |
| 19 | NEAR Protocol (NEAR) | 4.47 | +3.25% | +91.12% |
Where to Find the Strongest Altcoins
The biggest jumps are currently coming from tokens in the lower half of the top 20. NEAR Protocol has nearly doubled in value within a week (+91 percent). It is followed by Uniswap with a weekly gain of 66 percent, 17.5 percent of which came in the past 24 hours, and Bitcoin Cash with 57 percent. Bitcoin Cash stands out in particular with a daily gain of 30 percent.
Zcash is also drawing attention. The privacy coin now trades above $1,600, has gained 37 percent in seven days and has climbed to ninth place among the largest crypto assets. According to CoinDesk, Zcash was at times the biggest gainer among the major tokens. Other strong weekly gains came from Cardano (+33 percent), Dogecoin (+28 percent), XRP, Hyperliquid and Stellar (each around +26 percent) and Solana (+22 percent).
TRON and Monero remain comparatively calm, both slightly down on the day, as does the exchange token LEO with a weekly gain of just over one percent.
What Is Driving the Rally
One key driver is the return of institutional investors. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows of $999 million on Monday, according to Farside Investors. That is the highest daily figure since October. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust took the largest share with $381 million. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, the average entry price of ETF buyers is around $81,720, which means they are back in profit for the first time since January.
Macroeconomic factors are adding to the momentum. In August, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would at least double its liquidity-support bond buybacks, which pushed down yields and weakened the dollar. Oil prices are also falling: Brent recently dropped below $100 a barrel, easing inflationary pressure.
Signals from Washington are also being received positively by the market. The House Financial Services Committee recently approved the American Reserve Modernization Act by a vote of 28 to 21. The bill would move the roughly 325,000 bitcoin already held by the U.S. government into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and require them to be held for at least 20 years. Votes in the full House and the Senate are still pending. At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission used an innovation exemption to clear the way for onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks after the CLARITY Act stalled in Congress. This has given a boost above all to tokenization-related tokens.
Is the Bull Market Back?
Several technical indicators point to a trend reversal. Analytics firm CryptoQuant reports that Bitcoin has climbed above its 365-day moving average, which is considered a signal that the bear market phase has ended. Tony Dicarlo of RootstockLabs told CoinDesk that Bitcoin is once again trading above its 50-week and 200-week moving averages and has risen by around 29 percent in 35 days.
Optimistic observers therefore consider the $100,000 mark within reach by the end of the year; asset manager 21Shares, for example, expects it. There are skeptical voices as well. DZ Bank analyst Jonathan Osswald warns in Handelsblatt that profit-taking by long-term holders could slow the rise: “As prices rise, the willingness grows to realize gains and to bring previously illiquid holdings back onto the market.”
Part of the recent momentum also stems from liquidated short positions, which forced traders to buy back in. Such effects can amplify price moves in the short term but say little about how durable a trend is. Whether the recovery rally turns into a new, lasting bull market is therefore likely to depend largely on whether ETF inflows hold up and whether the political plans in the U.S. are actually implemented.
