Bitcoin posted its biggest weekly gain in two years, briefly touching $79,000 before easing back toward $76,000. The rally spread across the market, with XRP up 39% for the week and altcoins including Hyperliquid, Zcash and Chainlink each gaining more than 30%. Short sellers lost over $1 billion and ETFs pulled in fresh cash, but traders now watch upcoming US inflation, growth and jobs data to see if the move holds.
Bitcoin posted its biggest weekly gain in two years this week, briefly topping $79,000 on Friday before easing back. The move spread quickly into altcoins, with XRP jumping nearly 40% and Hyperliquid, Zcash and Chainlink each gaining more than 30%.
For the week, XRP is up 39%, crossing $1.40 for the first time in months, while bitcoin and Ethereum are up between 24% and 28%. Analysts say bitcoin would need to hold above $70,000 to show the rally can outlast this week's historic short squeeze.
Shortsellers Lose Over $1 Billion
Data from Coinglass shows over $1 billion in bitcoin short positions were closed this week. Standard Chartered's Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoffrey Kendrick, said Thursday was the largest liquidation of bitcoin shorts ever, when $1.1 billion in bets were closed.
At the same time, American investors piled into bitcoin ETFs, which took in over $1.6 billion this week, according to Farside Investors data. Thursday alone brought in $606.3 million, one of the funds' biggest trading days this year.
Analysts Split On What Sparked The Move
Analysts remain divided over what initially triggered the rally. Bernstein pointed to the Treasury's expanded buyback program as a liquidity catalyst, while MEXC Research argued markets were giving the intervention too much credit and called the rally premature. CNBC analysts, meanwhile, tied the move to the Treasury Department's Wednesday announcement to at least double the size of its long-dated bond buybacks.
Macro Data Looms Over The Rally
Bitcoin's price has already cooled from its weekly peak. CoinGape reported the coin touched $78,543.79 during a 9.7% intraday surge before pulling back toward the $76,000 area as traders positioned for upcoming US inflation, GDP and jobs data.
A hotter inflation reading or stronger growth and labor figures could pressure rate-cut expectations, while softer data may keep supporting bitcoin and other crypto assets, according to CoinGape. President Trump this week also urged lawmakers to advance the Clarity Act, with a vote on the long-awaited crypto legislation set for September.
Sources: The Block, Bitcoin Magazine, CoinGape
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