After weeks of trading in a tight range between $62,000 and $65,000, Bitcoin suddenly exploded higher on Wednesday, gaining roughly 12% to trade near $71,916. The breakout pushed the broader cryptocurrency market capitalization above $2.2 trillion, while daily trading volume soared 263% to $61.98 billion. The move triggered a massive short squeeze, with approximately $1.4 billion in leveraged positions liquidated as bearish traders were caught off guard.
Several factors appear to have fueled the rally. A White House crypto summit brought together President Donald Trump, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, and CFTC Chairman Mike Selig. President Trump reportedly reaffirmed his goal of making the United States the crypto capital of the world, while administration officials highlighted the GENIUS Act as a key regulatory signal. The CLARITY Act remains stalled in the Senate, but the SEC has continued shifting toward clearer pro-crypto guidance.
Institutional demand also returned. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $517.20 million in net inflows for the August 19 session, with BlackRock leading at $284.74 million and Fidelity, Ark Invest, and Bitwise also posting positive flows. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju added another explanation, noting that OG whales opened large long positions below $63,000 last week. He also observed that Bitcoin demand has turned positive in both spot and perpetual futures for the first time since October 2025, suggesting the bear market could be over if the trend holds for another month.
Altcoins joined the upswing. Ethereum jumped more than 19% to $2,285.42, Solana rose 13% to $87.48, XRP climbed 14.73%, Binance Coin added 6.84%, and Dogecoin gained 9.48%. The broad-based recovery has strengthened market sentiment and renewed speculation that a longer-term bottom may be forming.