Fiscal fears and record short liquidations drive $BTC's best weekly gain in years
$BTC rallied toward $80,000 last week, posting its best weekly gain in years after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's plan to at least double long-dated Treasury buybacks pulled yields lower, weakened the dollar, and reignited the debasement trade. The move broke Bitcoin above its 100- and 200-day moving averages and pushed its 14-day relative strength index into overbought territory. Congressional passage of the Clarity Act is the next policy catalyst to watch.
Key takeaways
- $BTC rallied toward $80,000 last week, posting its best weekly gain in years after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's plan to at least double long-dated Treasury buybacks pulled yields lower, weakened the dollar, and revived the debasement trade.
- The rally was driven by more than $1 billion in weekly spot-Bitcoin ETF inflows alongside record short liquidations, per Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick's data going back to 2021.
- Bitcoin broke above its 100- and 200-day moving averages, pushed its 14-day RSI into overbought territory, and clawed back to levels last seen in May, though it remains roughly 43% below its October all-time high of $126,000.
- Kendrick's year-end forecast is $100,000, and he wrote that for the first time this year there is a risk that figure is too low, with an overshoot toward the all-time high before year-end possible.
- Congressional passage of the Clarity Act is the next policy catalyst analysts are watching, as it could structurally lower the regulatory risk premium institutions attach to digital-asset exposure.
$BTC rallied toward $80,000 last week, posting its best weekly gain in years after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's plan to at least double long-dated Treasury buybacks pulled yields lower, weakened the dollar, and reignited the debasement trade. The move broke Bitcoin above its 100- and 200-day moving averages and pushed its 14-day relative strength index into overbought territory. Congressional passage of the Clarity Act is the next policy catalyst to watch.
The mechanism is familiar to anyone who has watched on-chain flow bleed into equities. Bessent's buyback announcement revived what traders call the debasement trade: the read that mounting fiscal strains and easier financial conditions strengthen the case for scarce assets outside the government monetary system. Even Ray Dalio, not a crypto evangelist by reputation, publicly cited what he called an "unsustainable" debt spiral as a reason to hold Bitcoin. When macro ammunition arrives while bearish positioning is stretched, the squeeze tends to be fast. It was.
The numbers
More than $1 billion of weekly spot-Bitcoin ETF inflows came in alongside record short liquidations, per data Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick cited going back to 2021. Spot-trading volumes jumped. The tape moved quickly enough that Bitcoin clawed back to levels last seen in May. It remains roughly 43% below its October all-time high, which the source pegged at $126,000.
Kendrick's year-end forecast sits at $100,000. He wrote that for the first time this year there is now a risk that figure is too low, and that an overshoot toward the all-time high before year-end may be possible once investors remember how quickly prices can accelerate, specifically after October 6, twelve months past the prior record. Lacie Zhang, research analyst at Bitget Wallet, argued separately that the regulatory risk premium is being repriced lower after Trump again urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act. Clearer rules, she said, make it easier for institutions to underwrite exposure.
The setup
One strong week does not confirm the flywheel is running again. The initial surge came largely from forced covering. Many ETF investors remain underwater. The digital-asset treasury companies that amplified earlier rallies are diminished.
The signal worth tracking, according to Tanay Ved, senior analyst at Talos, is that as prices moved higher, fresh buying entered the market rather than traders simply closing short positions. That distinction matters. Forced covering creates a print. Sustained demand creates a range.
Noelle Acheson, author of the "Crypto Is Macro Now" newsletter, said the rally feels different from other tenuous sparks over the past few months. Whether it stays different turns on whether spot ETF inflows hold into the next session and whether the Clarity Act clears Congress, the development Zhang said could structurally lower the risk premium institutions attach to digital-asset exposure.
Related reading
Filed by the digital assets desk of MarketPR on August 24, 2026. Source: finance.yahoo.com. Indicative figures are not investment advice.