Bitcoin Fails to Break $79K as Rally Momentum Fades
Bitcoin (BTC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Bitcoin struggled to maintain its upward momentum, fluctuating between $77,000 and $79,000 after climbing more than 20% since August 17, according to news.bitcoin.com. The asset peaked at $81,255 late on August 24 but has since seen its support level decline from above $79,500 to $79,000. After failing to breach the $79,000 threshold following 5:00 a.m. EST, Bitcoin reached only $78,830, with each sell-off wave leaving lower lows.
Market data indicated that leveraged long bets accounted for the majority of the $88 million in liquidations recorded on Bitstamp. This trend mirrored the broader market, where total liquidations surpassed $302 million, split between $247 million in long bets and $55 million in short bets. High-profile observers like BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes have linked the performance to U.S. Treasury actions, though consensus on the duration of this support remains divided.
While Hayes views this as the start of a bull run, Bybit chief market analyst Han Tan remains cautious about the sustainability of the spike. Tan noted that bulls must overcome the 50-week simple moving average, with a return to the $82,500–$83,000 region potentially enticing fresh ETF funds. He warned that the rally could lose momentum if Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offers nuance to the 'Treasury twist' or if Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivers a hawkish signal at Jackson Hole. As of 4:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, BTC traded just above $78,250, down roughly a percentage point for the day.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for BTC, measured when this story was written up on 26 August 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $79,023.75, showing a slight recovery from earlier lows. The 1-hour buy ratio stands at 44.7%, while the 4-hour ratio is lower at 43.0%, indicating that short-term buying pressure is fading compared to the 24-hour average of 49.9%. Volume delta reflects this weakness, with negative flows of -$9,605,302 over the last hour and -$13,495,762 over four hours. Over the full 24-hour period, the volume delta is -$903,088, and the Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) closed at -$64,526,673. This suggests that sellers have dominated the flow recently, with net buying occurring for only 10 of the last 24 hours. Spot volume for the period reached $1,148,236,056 across 4,284,527 trades.
The latest daily buy ratio of 46.7% sits at the 18th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.2% - weaker buying than most days.
Twenty-four hours later
What BTC did over the 24 hours after the story broke. The market moves for its own reasons; this is what happened, not what the story caused.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for BTC, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Compared to the preceding week, today’s activity shows a divergence from recent averages. The 7-day average buy ratio was 51.6%, making today’s 24-hour ratio of 49.9% slightly lower by 1.7 percentage points. Trading volume is also subdued, sitting at 0.54 times the weekly average. While the price has risen 14.0% over eight days with a total positive volume delta of $445,688,281, today’s negative delta signals a shift in momentum. This represents an unusual day for the coin, as it is one of only six net buying days in the past seven, contrasting with the current net selling pressure.