Bitcoin crossed $80,000 on August 24 for the first time in roughly 113 days, extending a dramatic recovery that has taken the cryptocurrency from below $60,000 in late June to its highest level since May. BTC moved above the psychologically important threshold following Monday’s Wall Street open, gaining roughly 3% during the session before retreating below $80,000 later in the day. Cointelegraph independently confirmed that Bitcoin traded above $80,000 for the first time since May 15.
The move came less than 48 hours after Bitcoin briefly fell below $76,000, demonstrating the extreme volatility that has characterized the market following last week’s historic rally. Approximately $179.2 million of cryptocurrency futures positions were liquidated during a four-hour window surrounding the move, according to CoinGlass data cited in contemporaneous reporting. Short positions accounted for approximately $100.2 million, while leveraged longs lost another $79 million. The relatively balanced liquidation profile reflects the two-sided volatility as Bitcoin repeatedly moved around major technical and psychological levels.
Bitcoin Recovers Rapidly From Weekend Pullback
Monday’s breakout follows one of Bitcoin’s strongest weekly performances in years. BTC began last week around $63,000 before surging to approximately $79,500 by Friday, a gain of roughly 23%. Investor’s Business Daily reported that the move represented Bitcoin’s strongest weekly advance in years and was accompanied by more than $4.3 billion in cryptocurrency short liquidations. The rally initially accelerated after the U.S. Treasury announced plans to substantially increase purchases of longer-duration government debt. Treasury yields subsequently declined and the dollar weakened, improving financial conditions for risk assets and alternative stores of value. Washington provided another catalyst. President Donald Trump met cryptocurrency executives alongside SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and renewed his call for Congress to pass comprehensive digital-asset market-structure legislation.
Bitcoin subsequently reached approximately $79,463 on August 21 before profit-taking emerged. The weekend correction pushed BTC below $76,000 and liquidated leveraged long positions, but buyers returned quickly. Reclaiming $80,000 on Monday means Bitcoin recovered the entire weekend decline and exceeded Friday’s three-month high.
Liquidations Continue to Amplify Price Swings
Leverage has become one of the defining features of Bitcoin’s latest rally. More than $1 billion in Bitcoin shorts were liquidated within roughly one hour during the initial August 19 breakout above $69,000. The broader rally subsequently generated more than $4 billion in bearish crypto liquidations as BTC advanced toward $80,000. Monday produced another, smaller round of forced position closures. The approximately $179 million four-hour total included liquidations on both sides of the market, showing that traders attempting to chase the breakout were being punished alongside those betting against it.
A separate 24-hour measurement cited by Cointelegraph placed total crypto short liquidations above $220 million, illustrating why liquidation figures can differ substantially depending on the time window, exchanges and assets included. Spot demand has provided a more durable component of the rally. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs attracted approximately $1.61 billion over the four trading sessions through August 20, including $606.3 million on Thursday alone. Bitcoin nevertheless remains substantially below its October 2025 record near $126,000.
The immediate question is whether $80,000 can transition from resistance into support. Bitcoin briefly clearing the level confirms that buyers remain active after the weekend correction, but repeated liquidations demonstrate that leverage is still amplifying relatively small price changes. Sustained trading above $80,000 would strengthen the argument that the latest move represents more than a short-covering rally. Failure to hold it could instead leave Bitcoin consolidating around the upper-$70,000 range after gaining more than 25% from its late-June lows.