Bitcoin tops $80,000 for first time since May

Bitcoin ↗ 0.18% surged above $80,000 on Tuesday for the first time since mid-May, capping a rally of roughly 25 percent over the past week and marking what some analysts are calling the early stages of a new bull market for digital assets.scmp+1

The world's largest cryptocurrency climbed as high as $80,908 in Asian trading on August 25, a level last seen on May 15, according to the Straits Times. The move came alongside a broader shift into alternative assets as investors responded to aggressive policy signals from Washington.straitstimes

Treasury Buybacks Fuel Risk Appetite

The rally gained momentum after the U.S. Treasury Department announced on August 19 that it would at least double the size of its government debt buyback operations, from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, targeting longer-duration bonds in an effort to curb surging yields. The plan, set to take effect September 9, initially sent yields lower, though they rebounded in subsequent sessions as concerns over government debt persisted.cnbc+3

The buyback announcement nonetheless spurred a wave of buying across hard and alternative assets. Gold also reached a three-month high, trading near $4,698 an ounce.scmp

ETF Inflows and Institutional Demand

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States recorded five consecutive days of net inflows last week, totaling nearly $2 billion, the strongest weekly figure since October 2025, according to Farside Investors data cited by Investopedia. On August 24 alone, bitcoin ETFs attracted $337.6 million in net inflows, with BlackRock's ↘ 0.86% IBIT leading at $208.9 million and Fidelity's FBTC adding $104.6 million.finance.yahoo+3

The rally also reshaped the balance sheet of Strategy ↗ 0.20%, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin with approximately 840,447 coins. The company reported an $8.22 billion net loss for the second quarter, driven by unrealized markdowns when bitcoin traded near $64,000. But with bitcoin now above $80,000, the firm's holdings — acquired at an average cost of roughly $75,476 per coin — have swung back into the black.strategy+2

Signs of Recovery, With Caution

Allen Ding, director of Hong Kong-based Bitfire Research, said the price action "shows characteristics of an early bull market," though bitcoin remains roughly 36 percent below its record high of $126,000 set last October. Despite the optimism, the cryptocurrency had lost nearly half its value earlier this year, and analysts cautioned that the $80,000 level now represents a key test of whether the recovery can hold.binance+1