Bitcoin rallies to $80k as altcoins lag in recovery
Bitcoin (BTC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
bitcoinethereumnews.com reports that Bitcoin surged from $62,800 to above $80,000 on 25 August, marking its strongest weekly performance since 2023. This 22% weekly gain was driven by US Treasury bond buybacks, the Clarity Act, and $2.7 billion in force-closed shorts. Despite the rally, Bitcoin remains roughly 37% below its October 2025 peak of $126,198, indicating a recovery rather than a new bull market breakout.
The total crypto market capitalization reached $2.75 trillion, with the altcoin market excluding Bitcoin surpassing $1 trillion. Bitcoin dominance hovered near 59%, suggesting capital has not fully rotated into smaller assets. Only a handful of coins like XRP, Ethereum, and Solana outperformed Bitcoin’s 22.6% weekly gain.
Chainlink, Zcash, and Aave also posted significant gains, while other established projects saw single-digit increases. The report identifies BNB, HBAR, and AVAX as key assets to watch, noting their specific fundamental drivers and risks. BNB is highlighted for its quarterly burn mechanism despite underperforming Bitcoin.
HBAR benefits from institutional adoption and ETF status but faces dilution pressure. AVAX shows diverging ecosystem activity despite a 90% drawdown from its 2021 high.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for BTC, measured when this story was written up on 27 August 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Bitcoin is trading at $79,023.75 with a 24-hour buy ratio of 49.9%, indicating near-even distribution between buyers and sellers. Shorter timeframes show slightly weaker sentiment, with the 1-hour buy ratio at 44.0% and the 4-hour ratio at 46.3%. Volume deltas are negative across all periods, with the 24-hour delta at -$903,088 and the 1-hour delta at -$9,365,201. This negative delta means that sell volume exceeded buy volume during these periods. The cumulative volume delta closed at -$101,371,176 for the day. Net buying occurred for only 6 out of 24 hours, suggesting a lack of sustained aggressive accumulation.
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.
Over the preceding week, the average buy ratio was 51.6%, compared to today’s 49.9%, showing a slight decrease in buying pressure. Volume was just 0.54 times the weekly average, indicating significantly lower trading activity than usual. The previous week saw net buying on 6 of 7 days, with a total positive volume delta of $445,688,281. Today’s negative delta and lower volume contrast with the strong accumulation seen last week. This represents an unusual day for Bitcoin, characterized by reduced volume and a shift toward net selling pressure.