Bitcoin (BTC) appears to have consolidated above $77,000 hours after hitting a multi-month high. Despite a pullback, Bitcoin is still on track to finish the week with its highest gain of August so far, as it finally broke through the $65,000 resistance level after several weeks of failed attempts.
However, before the jump to the monthly high, market data showed that around 9:50 PM on Thursday, Bitcoin rose to $75,500, after which a wave of selling pushed it back to the $74,000 mark. Just over four hours later, the cryptocurrency climbed back above $75,500 as another powerful surge pushed it to $79,491.
However, the bulls retreated as Bitcoin failed to sustain its rise towards the $80,000 mark: it fell back below $77,000 again and began to fluctuate sideways within this range. At 12:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), Bitcoin was trading just above $77,300, representing a daily gain of 6.4%. This rise increased its market capitalization to $1.55 trillion, helping to push the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization to $2.63 trillion.
The market dynamics even caught the attention of prominent skeptics such as staunch Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff, who reluctantly acknowledged that the cryptocurrency is acting as an alternative to gold amid currency debasement, noting that investors view both assets as competing stores of value in inflationary conditions.
"Gold hitting $4,600, silver approaching $70, oil surpassing $87, and Bitcoin's recent spike above $79,000 show that the Fed has lost all credibility regarding its commitment to return inflation to 2%. The Treasury has made it clear the Fed will choose inflation, so investors are choosing their preferred hedge," Schiff wrote in an X post.
In line with the trend observed over the past three days, the price action forced traders who opened short positions to lick their wounds. Coinglass data on liquidations over the last 24 hours showed that nearly $709 million worth of short positions in crypto were liquidated, compared to $139 million in long positions. Overall, $1.13 billion in short positions were liquidated in the crypto market versus $290 million in long positions.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin's performance over the last four days has reduced its year-to-date losses from nearly 30% to 11.4%—such a rapid recovery underscores how its notorious volatility acts both as a risk and a catalyst. With the Crypto Fear and Greed Index more than doubling—from 34 to an optimistic 72—market prediction participants are increasingly betting that Bitcoin will finish 2026 in the green.
