Cryptocurrency markets traded with a broadly firmer tone on Thursday, as Bitcoin consolidated just below $79,000 while Ethereum, Solana and several major altcoins extended strong weekly gains.
Bitcoin was trading at approximately $78,855, around 0.16 percent lower over 24 hours. The world’s largest cryptocurrency retained a weekly gain of about 13 percent, with its market capitalization holding near $1.58 trillion and 24-hour trading volume at around $28.1 billion.
The wider cryptocurrency market was valued at around $2.65 trillion, while Bitcoin dominance eased to 59.64 percent. CoinMarketCap’s Fear & Greed gauge stood at 80, or Extreme Greed, signaling strong investor appetite after the sharp recovery of the past week.
Bitcoin holds gains
Bitcoin’s relatively modest daily move contrasts with the strength of its recent rebound.
Reuters reported the cryptocurrency at $78,824.80 earlier in Asian trading, up 0.5 percent at the time. Bitcoin, Ether and gold have all benefited from the revival of the so-called dollar-debasement trade following U.S. Treasury intervention in bond markets.
Bitcoin had risen above $80,000 on August 25, reaching $81,237.94 at its intraday peak, its highest level since mid-May. It was up 28 percent for August at that point and on course for its strongest monthly performance since November 2024.
The rally accelerated after the U.S. Treasury announced plans to increase purchases of longer-dated government bonds following a sharp rise in long-term yields. The action weakened the dollar and revived investor interest in assets viewed as alternatives to conventional currencies and sovereign debt.
ETF demand strengthens
Institutional flows are adding another layer of support to Bitcoin’s recovery.
U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $232.2 million in net inflows on August 26, following another $314.3 million on August 25, according to Farside Investors. That brought combined inflows over the two sessions to $546.5 million.
BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $200.8 million of the August 26 inflow, while Fidelity attracted $25.6 million. Grayscale’s GBTC recorded $50.4 million in outflows, partially offsetting gains elsewhere.
Cumulative net inflows across U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at around $54.66 billion, according to Farside’s latest data.
The flows indicate that institutional participation has remained firm even as Bitcoin pulled back from Tuesday’s move above $80,000.
Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin
Ethereum continued to outperform Bitcoin on Thursday.
Ether was trading around $2,492, up roughly 1.1 percent over 24 hours and more than 10 percent over seven days. Its market capitalization stood at approximately $300.6 billion, with 24-hour turnover of around $13.4 billion.
Reuters’ earlier market snapshot put Ether at $2,493.41, up 0.9 percent. The cryptocurrency has gained about 34 percent during August, compared with a 25 percent monthly gain for gold and 14 percent for Bitcoin at Reuters’ Thursday morning measurement.
Demand for Ether investment products has also strengthened considerably.
U.S. spot Ether ETFs recorded $192.4 million in net inflows on August 26, extending a run of positive flows after another $179.8 million on August 25. Together, the two sessions attracted $372.2 million.
BlackRock’s ETHA led Wednesday’s inflows with $115.7 million, while Fidelity’s FETH attracted $32 million and Grayscale’s lower-fee Ethereum fund added $34.7 million. Cumulative net Ether ETF inflows reached about $12.64 billion.
Solana leads majors
Solana remained one of the strongest large-cap cryptocurrencies.
SOL traded near $101.47, rising approximately 4.59 percent over 24 hours and almost 18 percent over seven days. Its market capitalization reached around $59.1 billion, while daily trading volume stood near $4.16 billion.
BNB also advanced, trading near $705.46 and retaining a weekly gain of almost 12 percent. XRP was around $1.40 after a particularly strong weekly advance of more than 26 percent.
Dogecoin traded around $0.087 and remained more than 15 percent higher for the week, while Chainlink stood near $11.61 with a weekly gain of around 10 percent.
The stronger performance of Ether, Solana and several other tokens points to greater willingness among investors to move further out on the cryptocurrency risk curve.
Altcoins extend rally
The rotation was also visible further down the market.
In the market snapshot, Cardano traded around $0.21, Stellar near $0.18 and Bitcoin Cash around $267. Bitcoin Cash remained one of the stronger weekly performers after gaining more than 25 percent over seven days.
TRON traded near $0.335, while Hyperliquid was around $81.51 and Litecoin stood close to $49.73. Hedera remained near $0.08, Avalanche around $7.37 and Sui around $0.75.
Uniswap traded around $4.39, while Bittensor stood near $243, NEAR Protocol around $1.87, Ondo near $0.37 and Mantle around $0.52.
Ethena remained among the week’s standout performers after the token had risen more than 60 percent over seven days in the earlier market snapshot, while Pump.fun retained a gain of more than 45 percent despite falling during the latest session.
Pepe similarly remained sharply higher for the week even after a small daily decline.
Zcash stays strong
Zcash was another notable outperformer, trading around $785 after gaining roughly 41 percent over the previous seven days.
Aave traded near $126.71 and remained more than 30 percent higher over the week in the earlier snapshot.
The breadth of weekly gains across XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Zcash, Aave, Solana and Ethena shows that the recovery has spread substantially beyond Bitcoin.
However, it has not yet developed into a market-wide altcoin rally.
CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index stood at 37 during Thursday trading. Bitcoin dominance also remained close to 60 percent despite declining slightly during the day.
That combination suggests capital is selectively moving toward higher-beta assets rather than abandoning Bitcoin leadership altogether.
Stablecoins remain steady
Major dollar-linked cryptocurrencies remained close to their target values.
Tether traded around $0.9998 with a market capitalization of approximately $183.32 billion, while USDC was also near $1 with a market value of around $73.83 billion.
Dai, PayPal USD and Ripple USD similarly remained close to their respective $1 pegs.
Gold-backed cryptocurrencies moved broadly in line with physical bullion. Tether Gold was trading around $4,593, while PAX Gold stood close to $4,598 at the latest CoinMarketCap reading.
The size of stablecoin capitalization continues to provide an important liquidity base for cryptocurrency trading, particularly as investors move capital between Bitcoin, Ether and higher-risk tokens.
Inflation limits upside
The recovery is taking place against a complicated U.S. monetary-policy backdrop.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, rose 0.2 percent in July and 3.7 percent from a year earlier, leaving annual inflation unchanged from June and well above the central bank’s 2 percent target.
Core PCE inflation, excluding food and energy, increased 0.2 percent during the month and 3.3 percent annually.
Personal income rose 0.4 percent, while personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2 percent.
The persistent inflation reading has kept the possibility of tighter U.S. monetary policy in focus, potentially creating a headwind for cryptocurrencies and other assets that tend to benefit when liquidity conditions loosen.
Investors are now awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole remarks on Friday for clearer signals about the path of interest rates. Reuters said the latest inflation details appeared firmer heading into the September Fed meeting.
Risk appetite improves
At the same time, stronger global risk appetite is providing support.
Nvidia’s quarterly revenue more than doubled and its third-quarter forecast exceeded market expectations, lifting technology shares and reinforcing confidence that spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure remains strong.
That helped Asian shares rise for a third consecutive session and supported U.S. equity futures, creating a more favorable backdrop for cryptocurrencies and other risk-sensitive assets.
Crypto’s relationship with broader markets is nevertheless unusual in the current environment.
Bitcoin has benefited both when investors seek higher-risk assets and when concerns about the dollar and government debt encourage demand for alternative stores of value.
That dual narrative has been particularly visible since the Treasury’s bond-market intervention.
Debasement trade returns
Bitcoin’s August recovery began accelerating after U.S. authorities acted to calm long-dated Treasury yields.
Reuters reported on August 25 that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s efforts to stabilize the bond market helped weaken the dollar and reignited the so-called debasement trade. Bitcoin subsequently climbed above $80,000 for the first time in more than three months.
Market participants have interpreted increased Treasury buybacks as a sign that policymakers may have limited tolerance for substantially higher long-term borrowing costs.
That perception has supported assets including Bitcoin and gold, which some investors use to hedge against concerns over fiscal deficits, currency depreciation or financial repression.
Bitcoin has since fallen back below $80,000, but it remains substantially above the levels near $70,000 seen before the latest acceleration.
The ability to hold those gains will provide an important test of whether the move represents a lasting change in demand or primarily a short-term macro trade.
Regulation supports sentiment
A more supportive U.S. regulatory environment has provided another tailwind during 2026.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a joint interpretation in March designed to provide greater clarity on how federal securities and commodities laws apply to crypto assets.
The framework introduced a token taxonomy covering categories including digital commodities, stablecoins, digital collectibles and digital securities, while clarifying when non-security crypto assets can become subject to an investment contract.
The SEC said the measure was intended to complement congressional efforts to establish a more comprehensive digital-asset market structure.
Regulatory clarity has become increasingly important to institutional participation because investment managers, banks and other financial institutions require clearer rules around custody, trading and asset classification before expanding exposure.
The combination of spot ETFs and a more defined regulatory framework has consequently strengthened the infrastructure linking digital assets with traditional capital markets.
Read more: Bitcoin jumps 4.23 percent above $80,000 as weaker dollar, ETF inflows fuel crypto rally
Institutional flows matter
The latest ETF numbers reinforce that shift.
Bitcoin funds have now accumulated roughly $54.66 billion in net inflows, while Ether funds have attracted about $12.64 billion, according to Farside Investors.
The latest two-day inflow of more than half a billion dollars into Bitcoin ETFs is particularly notable because it continued even after Bitcoin’s sharp move toward $80,000.
Ether’s $372.2 million of inflows across August 25 and 26 also helps explain why Ethereum has recently outperformed Bitcoin.
Rather than money entering crypto exclusively through BTC, institutional flows are increasingly supporting more than one major digital asset.
That trend is consistent with Thursday’s price action, where Bitcoin remained relatively stable while Ethereum and Solana produced stronger gains.
Rotation remains selective
The immediate question is whether that rotation can broaden further.
The market’s Extreme Greed reading of 80 indicates sentiment has recovered rapidly, while weekly gains above 20 percent in several large and mid-cap tokens point to stronger speculative appetite.
Yet the Altcoin Season Index at 37 and Bitcoin dominance close to 60 percent show that Bitcoin still controls a substantial share of crypto-market value.
That makes the current setup different from a broad speculative altcoin surge in which Bitcoin dominance falls sharply and most alternative tokens consistently outperform.
Instead, capital appears to be concentrating in assets with stronger momentum, institutional access or specific narratives.
Solana’s near-18 percent weekly gain, Ether’s continued ETF inflows and large advances in XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Zcash illustrate that selective approach.
The next significant macro catalyst is likely to come from Jackson Hole.
A more hawkish message from Warsh could lift Treasury yields and the dollar, potentially pressuring cryptocurrencies after their rapid August advance.
A message suggesting the Fed is comfortable keeping rates unchanged despite inflation above target could instead preserve the environment that has supported Bitcoin, technology shares and other risk assets.
