The leading cryptocurrency continued its powerful recovery, crossing the $76,000 mark on August 21. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin has gained about 19%, marking its strongest weekly performance in two and a half years. As recently as August 18, the coin was trading near $64,700, before surging nearly $12,000 in just three days.
The intensity of the rally allowed the market to blow through key resistance levels at $69,000, $70,000, $72,000, and $75,000 almost without pause.
Record Liquidations and Real Demand
The initial trigger for the rapid surge was a massive short squeeze. According to data from analytics platform The Block, after BTC broke out of its prolonged sideways range, cascading liquidations of short positions across the crypto market exceeded $2.75 billion in a single day.
However, experts emphasize that the subsequent rally was fueled by organic spot demand:
- Inflows into institutional ETFs: According to The Block’s data, on August 19, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net daily inflows of $517 million — a record high in 3.5 months.
- Institutional leaders: The bulk of liquidity came from BlackRock IBIT (
285млн),ARKB(285млн),ARKB($77.7 million) and Fidelity FBTC ($62.4 million). In total, the funds attracted over $1.4 billion in August.
Macro Triggers and a Weaker Dollar
An additional driver for demand for safe-haven assets was the US Treasury’s decision to increase its buyback of long-term government bonds. As Reuters notes, investors viewed this as a step toward injecting new liquidity into the system. Amid a weakening dollar, investors began buying both gold and cryptocurrency simultaneously. An improved regulatory environment following the advancement of the Clarity Act also boosted confidence among major funds.
That said, the current price of $76,000 is still roughly 40% below the all-time high (ATH) of about $126,200, set in October 2025.
From a technical standpoint, the key event was a confident break and reclaim of the 200-day moving average around $69,000. Bitcoin’s next move will depend on whether bulls can hold the established $75,000–$76,000 range amid potential profit-taking by speculators.
