Key Points

• Jiang Zhuoer says he is about 90% confident the crypto bear market has ended after Bitcoin neared $79,500.
• He bought ETH near $2,100 after previously selling between $1,738 and $1,931, then sold half of his spot position near $2,525.
• Jiang is keeping 20%–30% of his planned capital undeployed, with a possible ETH purchase if Bitcoin falls to $67,000–$72,000.
• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $1.6 billion through Thursday, including $606.3 million in Thursday inflows.

Chinese mining veteran Jiang Zhuoer has abandoned his bearish call for 2026 after the market's latest rebound undermined his forecast. The founder of the BTC.TOP mining pool now says he is about 90% confident the bear market has ended, and he views Ethereum as a relative outperformer.

Jiang announced the shift on X:

长文《牛市真来了吗？现在踏空的应该怎么办？》 说一下这几天的操作【图1】， a、之前1738~1931卖出的ETH， 已在2100止损买回。 b、刚刚ETH在2525卖出50%现货， 尝试摸顶，止损2550（1%）， 止盈根据行情移动降低。 前一段看空错得离谱， 没踏空真的是运气好： 1、之前因为币涨幅大幅下降，… pic.twitter.com/HClvEIkpk4 — 江卓尔_莱比特矿池 (@Jiangzhuoer2) August 22, 2026

The reversal followed trades that reflected the breakdown of his bearish thesis. He had previously sold ETH between $1,738 and $1,931, then bought back near $2,100 after concluding that his view was failing.

Jiang Zhuoer Reverses Bearish Bitcoin Call as ETH Strengthens

In late June, Jiang forecast that Bitcoin could fall toward $42,000 to $44,000 during the fourth quarter. His projection partly relied on Strategy's depressed market-to-Bitcoin valuation and historical cycle timing. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, and the gap between its market value and its coin holdings is widely tracked as a gauge of investor appetite. The cycle framing, in turn, refers to the roughly four-year halving cadence that some analysts use to map Bitcoin's market phases.

That scenario weakened sharply when the cryptocurrency surged toward $79,500 on August 21. Ether also recovered into the mid-$2,000 range, reducing his conviction that significant downside remained. His repositioning did not end with the buyback.

He later sold half of his spot Ether near $2,525 and referenced a stop around $2,550. The sequence showed that his change in outlook was accompanied by active position management: rather than holding to the previous cycle call, he adjusted exposure as prices challenged it.

According to Wu Blockchain's translation, Jiang still has about 20% to 30% of his intended capital undeployed. He plans another ETH purchase if the flagship cryptocurrency retreats into the $67,000 to $72,000 range.

Wu Blockchain reported the shift on X:

One of China's Most Well-Known Miners Jiang Zhuoer: I'll Use All Remaining Funds to Buy ETH Jiang Zhuoer, founder of BTC .TOP, said his previous bearish market view was way off and that he is now 90% confident the bear market has ended, with ETH likely to outperform BTC in this… pic.twitter.com/QRkQVCqxrz — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 22, 2026

If that decline does not occur, the report said Jiang intends to deploy the remaining funds by late October. Odaily, however, described the reserve-capital plan as a purchase of the leading cryptocurrency instead. While the discrepancy between the translations creates uncertainty over the intended asset, it does not alter the broader shift away from Jiang's earlier bearish outlook.

ETH Outperformance and ETF Inflows Support Market Rebound

The change in outlook has also placed Ethereum at the center of Jiang's revised positioning, particularly after ETH outperformed the market leader during the latest rebound. Bernstein analysts linked Ether's relative strength to growing activity around stablecoins, tokenization, and real-world assets — segments in which Ethereum hosts a leading share of activity.

At the same time, the broader recovery received support from spot demand rather than relying solely on forced liquidations. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs — the funds approved in January 2024 that hold Bitcoin directly — attracted about $1.6 billion through Thursday, including $606.3 million on Thursday alone. Their flows are tracked as one of the most visible barometers of institutional demand.

Improving liquidity conditions also provided a supportive backdrop. Expanded U.S. Treasury buybacks of longer-dated debt coincided with fresh crypto-policy developments as digital assets accelerated from recent lows.

However, leverage remained an important driver of the initial breakout. More than $2.75 billion in short positions tied to the market leader were liquidated on August 19. Those liquidations helped accelerate the move above $70,000, showing that forced short covering contributed significantly to the rebound. Even so, substantial ETF inflows during the same week pointed to additional spot-market demand.

Against that backdrop, Jiang's reversal illustrates how quickly a fixed cycle forecast can weaken when market structure changes. His stated 90% confidence remains a personal assessment rather than an independently verified probability.

His trading response also emphasized execution over certainty. Jiang reduced exposure, bought back after reassessing market conditions, and kept part of his capital available for another entry. The clearest confirmation of the shift he now describes would come from sustained ETH relative strength, durable spot demand, continued ETF inflows, and liquidity remaining firm after short-covering pressure fades.

Source: Blockonomi