Bitcoin Nears $80,000 as Altcoins Retrace Recent Gains

Bitcoin rose to $79,999.99 on Coinbase, just a cent shy of the $80,000 round‑number threshold it has not breached since mid‑May. The price closed at $78,995, up 1.8% over the past 24 hours and 22.9% over the week, marking its strongest weekly gain since November 2024.

Market Breadth and Volume

The broader crypto market slipped 0.7% in the same period, with Bitcoin’s dominance at 59.1%. Eighty of the 123 largest non‑stablecoin tokens posted declines, erasing many of the gains recorded on Sunday.

Key Altcoin Movements

• Ether (ETH) traded at $2,481, up 0.7% on the day and 29.8% weekly.
• XRP fell 2.4% to $1.48, still holding a 47.8% weekly rise.
• Solana (SOL) rose 1.3% to $96.82.
• BNB was flat at $704.

Trading Activity

24‑hour trading volume fell to $128 billion, down 19% from the previous Friday’s $158 billion, indicating a slowdown in market turnover.

Regulatory and Institutional Updates

Grayscale’s Zcash trust will begin trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker “ZCSH” on or about August 25, 2026, converting the product from an OTCQX‑quoted vehicle to a listed ETF. The trust’s shares are held by Coinbase Custody, with Coinbase acting as prime broker.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a fifth consecutive day of inflows, adding $307.5 million on Friday and bringing the week’s total to $1.92 billion. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $239.3 million of the Friday inflow.

Macro Context

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is slated to speak at the Jackson Hole symposium later in the week, while market pricing reflects a 30% probability of a September rate hike. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 73, its highest level in two weeks.