Bitcoin Reclaims $77,000 as Strongest Week Since 2023 Lifts Crypto Market
Bitcoin pushed above $77,000 on Friday as one of the strongest crypto rallies in years continued to build momentum. The world’s largest cryptocurrency climbed as high as $79,400, extending a five-day advance that has lifted Bitcoin nearly 24% since Monday. That puts Bitcoin on track for its strongest weekly performance since March 2023. The rally has also spread across the broader cryptocurrency market, with several major altcoins posting significant gains alongside Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Extends Five-Day Rally
Bitcoin gained as much as 8.8% on Friday, briefly reaching $79,400 before trading back below $78,000. The move extends a rally that accelerated following the U.S. Treasury’s bond buyback announcement on Wednesday. Bitcoin has now risen for five consecutive days. The advance also carried Bitcoin beyond the $76,000 technical level associated with an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern that had been developing since the June lows. The speed of the rally has also pushed Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) into overbought territory.
Short Sellers Hit by More Than $1 Billion in Liquidations
The rapid move higher created significant activity across cryptocurrency derivatives markets. Approximately $3.3 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated on Wednesday, according to CoinGlass. Another $1.24 billion was liquidated over the following 24 hours. Short positions accounted for roughly $1.06 billion of those liquidations, compared with approximately $178 million in long positions. More than 152,000 traders were liquidated during the period. Despite the rally, Bitcoin’s aggregated long-to-short account ratio remains around 0.865, indicating that more accounts remain positioned short than long. Short liquidations have therefore represented a significant part of recent derivatives activity.
Bitcoin Futures Activity Rises
Traders are also rebuilding exposure to the cryptocurrency market. Total crypto futures open interest increased approximately 6.2% to $139.4 billion. Bitcoin futures open interest climbed about 7.4% to $57.7 billion, while aggregated Bitcoin open interest reached approximately $25 billion, its highest level since June. Bitcoin funding rates have also moved higher as trading activity has expanded. Rising prices, increasing open interest and heavy short liquidations have made derivatives positioning a major feature of Bitcoin’s latest market activity.
Bitcoin Dominance Remains
Bitcoin continues to represent the majority of the cryptocurrency market despite strong gains among altcoins. Bitcoin dominance stands near 59.9%, while the Altcoin Season Index remains at 33. Several major cryptocurrencies nevertheless outperformed Bitcoin during Friday’s trading. Ethena (ENA) gained approximately 13%, while Zcash (ZEC) climbed around 12.5%. NEAR Protocol (NEAR) advanced roughly 8.6%, while Chainlink (LINK) gained about 8.2%. Chainlink has now risen approximately 32% over the past week. AI-related cryptocurrencies also participated in the broader rally, with Fetch.ai (FET) gaining more than 5%.
XRP Leads Large-Cap Crypto Gains
XRP was among the strongest-performing major cryptocurrencies during the rally. The token gained approximately 19%, while its 24-hour trading volume increased roughly 139%. XRP open interest also climbed around 15.5%, showing a significant increase in derivatives activity alongside the price move. The performance highlights how Bitcoin’s rally has expanded into other parts of the digital asset market.
Bitcoin Spot Demand Continues to Improve
Another important development is occurring in Bitcoin’s spot market. CryptoQuant’s 30-day apparent spot demand measure has recovered sharply from approximately negative 206,000 BTC on July 23 to around negative 5,000 BTC. That puts the indicator close to positive territory for the first time since February. The distinction between spot and derivatives activity is important. Spot demand represents direct Bitcoin buying, while futures and perpetual contracts represent derivatives exposure. The latest data shows a substantial recovery in the spot-demand measure alongside increased derivatives activity.
Why This Matters
Bitcoin’s move above $77,000 represents one of its largest weekly advances in several years. The cryptocurrency has gained nearly 24% in five days, reached its strongest weekly performance since March 2023 and moved through the $76,000 level associated with the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. At the same time, billions of dollars in leveraged positions have been liquidated, futures open interest has increased and trading activity across major altcoins has accelerated. The data shows significant activity across both Bitcoin spot and derivatives markets during the rally.
Conclusion
Bitcoin’s climb above $77,000 has produced one of the cryptocurrency market’s largest weekly moves since 2023. Bitcoin traded as high as $79,400, substantial short positions were liquidated and cryptocurrencies including XRP, Chainlink, Ethena, Zcash and NEAR recorded strong gains. Bitcoin dominance remains near 60%, while spot-demand measures and derivatives activity have both increased significantly during the week. Together, the data highlights the scale of market activity surrounding Bitcoin’s five-day advance.