Total crypto market capitalization climbed to nearly $2.82 trillion on Thursday. That marks its highest level in more than seven months. Bitcoin (BTC) broke back above $80,000, Zcash led a broad rally, and the dollar weakened.
Bitcoin traded around $81,460 at publication time, up 5.4% over 24 hours, after touching an intraday high of $81,282 Thursday morning in New York, The Block reported. The cryptocurrency has gained over 23% across the past 30 days, Bitcoin Magazine reported. It remains roughly 40% below its October record of $126,080. Much of the year was spent trading below $80,000. June and July stayed largely under $65,000.
Zcash (ZEC) posted the largest gain among the top 50 cryptocurrencies: 16.5%. Cardano (ADA) added 13%. Both Dogecoin (DOGE) and XRP rose roughly 10%, The Block data showed.
The rally coincided with broad dollar weakness. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) fell to 99. USD/JPY dropped to 155.4 from 158.5 the prior day, Cointelegraph reported. The yen move followed suspected Bank of Japan intervention. Polymarket odds for a BOJ rate hold collapsed from 12% to 1%, with a 98% probability priced in for a 25-basis-point hike on September 18.
“In the last 24 hours, USD/JPY has dropped almost 2.5%, which doesn’t happen without any major intervention,” research account The Macro Paper wrote on X, per Cointelegraph. “On top of that, BOJ is most likely expected to hike rates this month, with more rate hikes possible in Q4.”
The dollar’s slide deepened after the U.S. Treasury said it would more than double government debt repurchases, Bitcoin Magazine reported. Richard Green, head of institutional at RootstockLabs, tied bitcoin’s rise alongside gold to what he called the “debasement trade.” That term captures concerns that mounting government debt erodes currency value.
“The closer those conditions get to crisis levels, the more investors allocate capital towards assets, particularly hard assets,” Green said. He cautioned that further drawdowns remain likely.
Investors directed more than $2.8 billion into bitcoin ETFs. That is the most since October. “Bitcoin breaking the $80k wall, fueled by $100 million of ETF inflows and OTC activity, was enough to banish the bears ahead of U.S. economic data,” said Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent. A revival in memecoin trading has also laid the groundwork for what he expects could be a steady climb toward $100,000 by year-end, Howard said.
Crypto-linked equities moved in lockstep. Strategy (MSTR) and Circle (CRCL) each gained 15%. Coinbase (COIN) rose about 10%, The Block showed. Strategy resumed bitcoin purchases on Monday after a 10-week pause, Bitcoin Magazine reported. The company’s STRC preferred shares traded near $97.80, nearly back to their $100 par after dropping as low as $69 five weeks ago. Among miners, HIVE Digital led with a 13% jump. MARA Holdings followed at 10%. CleanSpark gained 9%.
Traders remain nearly split on the Federal Reserve’s next move. Polymarket odds showed a 50.4% chance of a 25-basis-point hike at the September 16 FOMC meeting against 49.6% for a hold.
Options markets reflect a cautious tilt. Approximately $1.4 billion in September bitcoin puts are stacked between $68,000 and $75,000. Call positioning runs heavy from $82,000 to $100,000. Adam Haeems, head of asset management at Tesseract Group, described the positioning as a “hedged long.” Investors hold exposure while insuring against a pullback.
Holders, as ever, are divided on what comes next.
