Bitcoin rallies 22% to $81,265 as Satoshi-era holdings gain $15B

Bitcoin climbed 22% to a high of $81,265 on Tuesday, adding $15 billion to Satoshi-era holdings as Treasury buybacks fueled the rally.

"The pullback came on profit-taking ahead of tonight's core PCE inflation release," Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG Australia, said. "A sustained move higher could open the door for Bitcoin to reach $95,000 to $100,000."

The token traded near $79,000 as of 09:20 UTC on Wednesday after giving up gains from its Tuesday peak. The rally began after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Aug. 20 the US would "at least double" planned purchases of outstanding 10- to 30-year debt, weakening the dollar and pushing investors toward Bitcoin as an inflation hedge. More than $4 billion in crypto shorts were liquidated over two to three days as the token broke through $70,000, according to Lacie Zhang, a research analyst at Bitget Wallet. US-listed spot Bitcoin funds recorded about $314 million of net inflows on Tuesday, their fifth consecutive session above $300 million.

Bitcoin faces resistance at $80,000 to $83,000, with $75,000 to $76,000 as the main pullback zone. A sustained break above $80,000 could open a path toward $82,000 to $87,000, while the Senate is scheduled to take up the Clarity Act again in mid-September.

The $15 billion increase in the market value of Satoshi-era wallets — addresses that have remained dormant since Bitcoin's earliest days — shows the scale of the rally. Bitcoin dominance climbed to around 61% this week before correcting to about 59%, near its highest level of the year, according to CoinMarketCap data. The Altcoin Season Index, which measures how many of the top 100 coins have beaten Bitcoin's price over 90 days, sits at 46 — well short of the 75 mark that defines an actual altcoin season.

Ethereum led the alt basket, climbing about 30% over the same week to above $2,500. But Total3, the index that strips out both Bitcoin and Ethereum to isolate the rest of the market, cooled after an early burst and now sits around $753 billion — down for the week even as Bitcoin pushed toward $80,000.

Signals beneath the surface remain mixed. Relative strength index readings across several major tokens point to overbought conditions, suggesting near-term consolidation is plausible rather than an uninterrupted run higher, said Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets. Nicolai Søndergaard, a senior research analyst at Nansen, described Bitcoin as in a "late-stage bottoming process," with selling pressure easing and large token holders resuming selective accumulation, though US spot demand remains weak.

President Donald Trump met crypto executives at the White House on Aug. 22 and pushed Congress to pass the Clarity Act, a bill that would settle which US regulator oversees which crypto assets. The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill again in mid-September.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.