Crypto Market Nears $2.82 Trillion After Sharp Rebound
Key Takeaways
- •Total crypto market capitalization reached nearly $2.82 trillion on Thursday, the highest in more than seven months, after bottoming near $2.3 trillion in early February.
- •Bitcoin traded around $81,460, up about 5.4% in 24 hours, with its break above $80,000 lifting broader market activity.
- •Zcash rose about 16.5% to lead top-50 cryptocurrencies, while Cardano gained roughly 13% and Dogecoin and XRP each added close to 10%.
- •Crypto-linked equities rallied alongside tokens, with Strategy and Circle up about 15% and Coinbase up around 10%.
- •Traders assign a 50.4% probability to a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike on September 16 versus 49.6% for no change, with about $1.4 billion in Bitcoin puts between $68,000 and $75,000 hedging long positions.
Overview
The global crypto market climbed to nearly $2.82 trillion on Thursday, reaching its highest level in more than seven months. Bitcoin moved above $81,000, while several major altcoins posted strong daily gains. The advance marked a sharp recovery from the January sell-off, when total market value fell toward $2.3 trillion in early February. Trading activity strengthened across large-cap tokens as investors returned to risk assets ahead of fresh U.S. economic data and the Federal Reserve decision scheduled later this month.
Crypto Market Rebounds as Bitcoin Clears $81,000
Bitcoin traded near $81,460 at publication time, gaining about 5.4% over 24 hours. Its move above $80,000 helped lift broader market activity after months of uneven trading and weak risk appetite.
The market has now recovered much of the value lost during the early-year decline. Total capitalization had fallen from about $3.4 trillion in mid-January before reaching a low near $2.3 trillion in the first week of February.
Zcash led gains among the top 50 cryptocurrencies, rising about 16.5%. Cardano advanced roughly 13%, while Dogecoin and XRP each gained close to 10% as buying spread beyond Bitcoin.
Crypto-linked shares also moved higher during the session. Strategy and Circle gained about 15%, while Coinbase rose around 10%. Strategy's STRC preferred shares moved close to their $100 target value after falling to about $69 five weeks earlier. The move in these equities underscores how tightly crypto-adjacent stocks tend to track token prices, since their revenues and balance sheets are tied directly to digital-asset markets.
ETF Flows and Fed Expectations Drive Attention
Wincent Senior Director Paul Howard linked Bitcoin's move above $80,000 to about $100 million in ETF inflows and over-the-counter activity. He also pointed to renewed memecoin trading as another source of market activity. Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which the SEC approved in January 2024, have become a key channel for institutional exposure, so their flows are watched closely as a signal of demand.
Rate expectations remain divided ahead of the Federal Reserve's Sept. 16 meeting. Traders currently assign a 50.4% chance to a 25-basis-point rate increase and a 49.6% chance that policymakers leave rates unchanged. The split reflects broader uncertainty about inflation and growth, which historically has driven volatility across risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
Richard Green of RootstockLabs said Bitcoin's rise alongside gold reflects investor interest in hard assets amid concerns about government debt and future monetary support. He also said further price declines remain possible.
Tesseract Group's Adam Haeems noted about $1.4 billion in September Bitcoin puts between $68,000 and $75,000. Call open interest remains stronger, with heavy positioning from $82,000 to $100,000. He described the setup as a hedged long, where investors keep exposure while protecting against a pullback. The options positioning offers a view of where traders see potential support and resistance levels, making upcoming Fed commentary and economic releases a key focus for whether the rebound extends.
Source: CoinCentral
