Bitcoin has surged to an eight-month high, crossing the $85,000 mark as renewed investor appetite for risk assets continues to build momentum.
The cryptocurrency reached a peak of $85,222, representing a gain of as much as 5.1%, before settling at $85,117 in recent trading sessions.
The latest rally extends a remarkable run that has seen Bitcoin climb more than 30% from its August 19 level, adding close to 6% in a single week of trading.
Three distinct factors underpinned the advance, according to Naeem Aslam, an analyst at Zaye Capital Markets, who cited accelerating ETF inflows, favorable regulatory signals, and short-covering by traders.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $433.03 million in net inflows on Friday alone, flipping the weekly flow figure to a net positive $6.21 million and reinforcing bullish sentiment across the market.
The gains arrived alongside a broader market rally, with falling oil prices and optimism ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping supporting risk assets more generally.
Oil prices down roughly 10% from the prior week helped calm inflation concerns, pulling Treasury yields lower and providing additional fuel for Bitcoin and U.S. equities alike.
The cryptocurrency had faced headwinds the prior week after the long-awaited Clarity Act, which aimed to establish a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the United States, was blocked in the Senate.
Investors appear to have shrugged off that legislative setback, maintaining their hopes for clearer U.S. crypto rules even as regulatory uncertainty lingers in the background.
On derivatives markets, open interest calls on Deribit topped 272,000 contracts against about 154,000 puts, a skew that signals growing conviction in further upside from professional traders.
“People are repositioning from downside protection to wanting to capture the upside,” said Pratik Kala, a portfolio manager at Apollo Crypto, describing the shift in market positioning.
The bullish move caught prediction market participants off guard, as traders on Kalshi, the regulated U.S. exchange, had clustered the bulk of their year-end 2026 Bitcoin bets in the $60,000 to $70,000 range.
Other major cryptocurrencies also benefited from the improved sentiment, with Ether rising more than 4.3% to $2,747, while XRP, Solana, and Monero each posted meaningful gains.
Despite the impressive recent run, Bitcoin remains well below the $97,000-plus level it reached in mid-January and trails its all-time record by an even wider margin, leaving considerable room for debate about what comes next.
