Bitcoin Nears $80,000 as Three-Day Rally Rivals 2023 Surge

Bitcoin traded just under $80,000 on Monday, up 2% and sitting at levels not seen since May, as the flagship cryptocurrency extended a rally that has now delivered more than 20% in gains over three trading days — the largest such move since January 2023. Ether climbed 2% to roughly $2,500, its highest price since January. The move has spread across crypto-adjacent equities: Strategy rose 2% and Strive gained 4%, while Ethereum treasury stocks Bitmine and Sharplink added 3% and 2%, respectively.

The rally traces back to a macro shift last week, when the Treasury said it would double its purchases of longer-dated government bonds. That briefly pushed yields lower and revived appetite for both risk assets like bitcoin and safe-haven assets like gold. Spot bitcoin ETFs pulled in $1.92 billion of inflows last week, the largest weekly haul since October, when bitcoin hit its cycle peak. At the same time, more than $4 billion in bearish crypto bets were liquidated as prices climbed, adding fuel to the move. Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio added his voice to the bullish case, warning that major economies could face a debt crisis within the next several years and recommending investors hold at least some bitcoin as a hedge. Not everyone is convinced the move has legs: BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky flagged that bitcoin staged a nearly identical breakout in January 2023 — also a roughly 20% surge in three days — only to fade back toward its 200-day moving average in the following weeks.

For investors, the setup cuts both ways. The institutional inflow data and the liquidation of bearish positions suggest real conviction behind this move, not just short-term speculation, and bitcoin's break above its prior trading range is notable after a slump that stretched back to October. But the 2023 parallel is a useful reality check: sharp multi-day rallies of this size have failed to hold before, and chasing the move at current levels carries real pullback risk. Investors with existing crypto exposure may want to let this rally play out rather than add aggressively into strength, while those without exposure should treat a pullback toward recent support — rather than the current price — as the more attractive entry point.