Crypto 21.08.2026: BTC $77,000, XRP +15%

Global Crypto Market on 21st August: Bitcoin Breaks Above $77,000, Liquidity and Regulatory Signals Ignite Short Squeeze

On Friday, 21st August, the global cryptocurrency market continued its sharp rally phase, initiated in previous days by the US Treasury's decision to increase long-term bond repurchases and White House support for a crypto regulatory bill. According to Yahoo Finance data (21st August, ~9.08 ET), Bitcoin traded around $77,308 after opening at approximately $73,013 (approx. +5.4% in 24 hours), while CoinDesk (~8.30 UTC) recorded approximately $77,602 (approx. +7.99% in 24 hours) and Nexo - approximately $77,818 (approx. +6.03%) with an intraday high above $79,500. Ethereum showed even greater strength on the same day, trading around $2,391 (approx. +3.3%) according to Yahoo Finance, and even around $2,508 (approx. +7.33%) according to Nexo. The surge was amplified by massive short position liquidations: according to CoinDesk, approximately $1.2 billion in short positions were cleared in the last 24 hours out of a total of approximately $1.4 billion in liquidations.

Market Overview

Bitcoin broke out of its multi-week range on Friday, trading confidently above the $77,000 level for the first time in an earlier period. Various sources recorded slightly different levels depending on the measurement time: Yahoo Finance (21st August, ~9.08 ET) indicated approximately $77,308 after opening at around $73,013 with a 24-hour increase of approximately 5.4%; CoinDesk (~8.30 UTC) - approximately $77,602 (approx. +7.99%); Nexo - approximately $77,818 (approx. +6.03%) with an intraday high above $79,500; and the Investing News Network (INN) summary (21st August, 10.00 UTC) - approximately $77,864 (approx. +8.3% in 24 hours). According to Yahoo Finance, Bitcoin's weekly performance was approximately +15.2%, monthly approximately +11.9%, but yearly approximately -36.1%; the all-time high ($126,198) is still dated 6th October 2025. INN described the week as Bitcoin's strongest five-day performance since March 2024, with a climb of approximately +22%.

Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin on both daily and weekly metrics. According to Yahoo Finance, ETH traded around $2,391 after opening at approximately $2,327 (approx. +3.3% in 24 hours), with a weekly performance of approximately +23.5%, monthly approximately +22.2%, and yearly approximately -46.3%; ETH's all-time high ($4,953.73) is dated 24th August 2025. Nexo recorded ETH higher on the same day - around $2,508 (approx. +7.33%), while CoinDesk mentioned around $2,350 (approx. +5% in 24 hours, weekly approx. +24.5%). The differences are explained by different measurement windows in a rapidly rising market; the overall direction across all sources was distinctly positive, and Ethereum's monthly performance (approx. +22%) significantly exceeded Bitcoin's monthly performance (approx. +12%).

In the altcoin segment, the rally was broad. According to CoinDesk data on 21st August, Solana (SOL) traded around $90 (approx. +5% in 24 hours, weekly approx. +17%), BNB around $660 (approx. +6%), Dogecoin around $0.08 (approx. +9%), Hyperliquid (HYPE) around $73 (approx. +4%, weekly approx. +27%), and TRON (TRX) around $0.34 (approx. +1.5%). The most significant gainer among major tokens was XRP: according to Nexo, it traded around $1.447 (approx. +14.61%), surpassing the $1.40 level for the first time in several months, while INN's weekly summary estimated XRP's climb at approximately +25%; INN also recorded SOL around $91.64 (approx. +5%). Bitcoin's market capitalisation, according to CoinDesk, reached approximately $1.5 trillion, still about 40% below its October 2025 record.

What Influenced the Market

The main drivers of the rally were a combination of macro liquidity and regulatory signals. According to a CoinDesk report, the US Treasury, starting on Wednesday, doubled the volume of long-term bond repurchases from approximately $2 billion to approximately $4 billion per operation, easing conditions in the approximately $30 trillion US government debt market. INN clarified that the step was announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Such repurchases tend to reduce long-term bond yields and weaken the dollar, freeing up capital for riskier assets. Nexo noted on the same day that gold held near a three-month high, Brent crude oil was on track for its second consecutive strong weekly gain, US stock indices fell sharply on Thursday, and the dollar was heading for its worst week in three months - a macro backdrop that supported the rise of risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

The second significant factor was regulatory progress. According to CoinDesk and INN reports, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the White House called on Congress to advance the so-called CLARITY Act (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act); the event was attended by executives from Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple, and Chainlink Labs. INN explained that the bill provides for joint oversight of digital assets by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and strengthens law enforcement tools against illicit activity; the Senate plans a procedural vote after lawmakers return in September. One analyst, cited by INN, described the situation as "liquidity probably opened the door, but it took a regulatory signal to convince the market to walk through it."

On the institutional flow side, demand intensified. According to CoinDesk, on 20th August, crypto exchange-traded funds collectively attracted approximately $800 million in inflows - the second consecutive day of increasing momentum - including approximately $606 million into Bitcoin funds (up from approximately $517 million the previous day) and approximately $221 million into Ethereum funds (up from approximately $189 million); XRP funds attracted approximately $13 million, and Solana funds approximately $15 million. At the same time, several sources emphasised the mechanical nature of the rally: according to CoinDesk, approximately $1.2 billion in short positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours out of a total of approximately $1.4 billion in liquidations (affecting approximately 156,211 traders), totalling over $4 billion in two days; the volume of liquidated positions on 20th August (approximately $3 billion) was the largest single-day figure since data collection began in 2021, and the largest single closed position was a Bitcoin transaction worth approximately $25.13 million on the Hyperliquid exchange. CoinDesk commented cautiously: traders forced to buy to cover positions "are not deciding that Bitcoin is worth more; they are covering a losing bet."

Exchange and Industry Events

Industry attention on 21st August was primarily drawn to regulatory and corporate events surrounding the rally. According to INN's summary, shares of cryptocurrency-related companies rose sharply on Friday: MicroStrategy (MSTR) increased by almost 12%, while Coinbase Global (COIN), Circle Internet Group (CRCL), and BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) each gained approximately 10%. The White House event with executives from Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple, and Chainlink Labs confirmed the industry's direct involvement in advancing the CLARITY Act, which is one of the clearly dated events in the 21st August regulatory context.

No major new exchange incidents or regulatory actions directly against Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, or Bybit with a clear 21st August dating were confirmed in public sources. As continued context, early August events remain relevant: according to public announcements, Binance on 3rd August announced the delisting of six tokens (ACX, HFT, PIVX, PYR, VANRY, VIC), with spot trading ending on 17th August, while Bybit continues to reorganise its European Economic Area operations under the MiCA regime. These are news events from earlier days, not 21st August, and are mentioned only for contextual completeness.

Security Incidents

The most significant security event was the halting of the MANTRA (OM) network after an exploit. According to a CoinDesk report on 21st August, an attacker exploited a vulnerability in a so-called upstream dependency (external software used by MANTRA Chain), and the project announced that it had identified the vulnerability and was preparing a patched software version. The OM token fell by approximately 18.5% to an all-time low, from approximately $0.005060 to approximately $0.004126 around Thursday 23.10 UTC, later recovering to approximately $0.0044 (approx. -10% in 24 hours), while trading volume increased by almost 600% to approximately $24 million. The network produced its last block around Thursday 23.13 UTC - approximately three minutes after the price low - and the halt was announced approximately 30 minutes later; as a precautionary measure, all network endpoints, transactions, deposits, and withdrawals were frozen.

MANTRA did not disclose a specific loss amount on 21st August, stating that a full impact assessment was still ongoing and the project could not yet confirm either the total extent or whether any assets were lost at all. The incident occurred amidst a global market rally and highlighted the structural risk that even a single network infrastructure failure can cause a sharp price drop for an individual token, regardless of broader market sentiment. Other new, clearly dated large-scale security incidents were not confirmed by public sources on 21st August.

Context and Outlook

To understand the broader context, several structural factors must be considered. Despite the strong weekly gains, both major assets remain significantly below their 2025 highs - Bitcoin's yearly performance was approximately -36.1%, and Ethereum's approximately -46.3% - and Bitcoin's market capitalisation (approximately $1.5 trillion) remained about 40% below its October 2025 record. Several sources emphasised that part of the movement was driven by a technical short squeeze, not solely new fundamental demand, meaning that a sharp rise could be partially reversible if speculative pressure eases. At the same time, increasing ETF inflows for the second consecutive day also indicate real institutional buying, complementing the liquidation-driven movement.

In the near term, market attention will likely focus on the legislative progress of the CLARITY Act and the upcoming Senate procedural vote in September, the impact of US Treasury bond repurchases on yields and the dollar, the resilience of ETF flows after the sharp rise, and the industry's reaction to the MANTRA incident. Observers note that after large-volume liquidations, the market tends to become more sensitive to sudden corrections, so the sustainability of the future direction will largely depend on whether macro and regulatory signals remain supportive. This article is an informative overview and should not be considered investment advice; always conduct your own research before making decisions.

Sources

• Yahoo Finance - "Bitcoin and ethereum prices today, Friday, August 21, 2026: Cryptos continue rally sparked by Treasury repurchase announcement" (21.08.2026, ~9.08 ET / snapshot 12.16 EDT): https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/investing/article/bitcoin-and-ethereum-prices-today-friday-august-21-2026-cryptos-continue-rally-sparked-by-treasury-repurchase-announcement-161633891.html
• CoinDesk - "Bitcoin tops $75,000, ether, solana surge as another $1 billion of shorts wiped out" (21.08.2026, ~8.30 UTC): https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/08/21/bitcoin-ether-and-solana-climb-as-another-usd1-billion-shorts-get-wiped-out
• CoinDesk - "Live updates: Bitcoin, ether ETFs pull in $800 million as inflows surge for a second day" (21.08.2026): https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/08/21/live-updates-bitcoin-ether-etfs-pull-in-usd800-million-as-inflows-surge-for-a-second-day
• CoinDesk - "MANTRA token plunges 18% to record low as blockchain halts after exploit" (21.08.2026): https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/08/21/mantra-token-plunges-18-to-record-low-as-blockchain-halts-after-exploit