Bitcoin held above $77,000 following a multi-month peak near $79,500, placing the cryptocurrency on track for its strongest week of August. After spending weeks failing to break resistance at $65,000, the asset surged past that level to reach a peak of $79,491 before settling near $77,300.
Trading activity featured notable volatility ahead of the peak. Market data showed bitcoin rallying to $75,500 before a sell-off dragged it toward $74,000, followed by a subsequent rally to the $79,491 high. As bulls retreated from the $80,000 threshold, bitcoin traded just above $77,300 with a daily gain of 6.4%. This movement pushed bitcoin's market capitalization to $1.55 trillion and lifted the broader cryptocurrency market capitalization to $2.63 trillion.
The sharp upward movement triggered widespread liquidations. Coinglass 24-hour data indicated that short bets totaling $709 million were wiped out out of $1.13 billion in marketwide short liquidations. The recent four-day price action reduced bitcoin's year-to-date losses from nearly 30% down to 11.4%, while the Crypto Fear and Greed Index rose from 34 to 72.
The rally also prompted commentary from prominent figures. Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff noted that the price action, alongside gains in gold, silver, and oil, indicates that investors are utilizing these assets as alternative hedges against inflation. Meanwhile, VanEck's head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, stated that his year-ahead bitcoin target and 2029 cycle-peak call remain unchanged.
