Bitcoin tops $80,000: What’s next for crypto’s short-term path?

Vijay Valecha, Tue, Aug 25, 2026 Khaleej Times

Bitcoin’s rally past $80,000 has traders asking one question: can the momentum survive the next few weeks, or is a pullback overdue? With US inflation data and the Federal Reserve chair’s Jackson Hole speech both landing within days, analysts say the coming 72 hours could decide whether the rebound extends towards $87,000 or fades back into the mid-$70,000s.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency touched $81,237.94 on Tuesday, its highest level since mid-May, before easing to around $79,276 by evening in the UAE. A softer US dollar and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s efforts to ease pressure in the bond market helped reignite buying across crypto markets.

Bitcoin has now gained 28 per cent in August alone, its strongest monthly performance since November 2024, with the advance gathering pace after President Trump urged Congress to pass legislation clarifying crypto regulation.

Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer at Century Financial, struck a more cautious note. He attributed the 27 per cent two-week surge to a mix of Bessent’s bond-buyback plan and roughly $7.2 billion in forced liquidations of bearish bets. Institutional flows are only just re-engaging, he said, with Bitcoin ETFs logging their strongest weekly inflow in 10 months. Still, he cautioned that “a single strong week during a squeeze can reflect momentum-chasing as much as durable, strategic allocation,” adding that sustained gains will require continued regulatory progress and institutional buying.

For now, traders appear focused less on how Bitcoin got to $80,000 and more on whether it can stay there once this week’s macro data lands.

Analysts caution that the path higher is unlikely to be smooth. Even with ETF inflows running at their strongest pace in months, Bitcoin remains well below its all-time high of roughly $126,000, and the memory of a summer spent trading under $64,000 is still fresh. Valecha’s point about distinguishing momentum-chasing from durable allocation is echoed across the market: much of the recent move has been amplified by the unwind of bearish positioning, and that fuel source is finite. Once forced liquidations are largely cleared, as Lee noted, the rally will need genuine spot demand to keep pushing higher rather than simply holding its gains.

The regulatory backdrop adds another layer of uncertainty. The Clarity Act, the market-structure bill championed by President Trump, failed to reach a vote before Congress’s August recess and is not expected to be revisited until mid-September at the earliest. Any delay or setback on that front could remove one of the bullish narratives currently supporting sentiment.

With inflation data due Wednesday and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole address to follow, both events carry the potential to move the dollar and Treasury yields sharply — and with them, Bitcoin’s next leg. Traders will be watching closely for signs of whether this month’s rally has staying power heading into September.

Khaleej Times