Institutional Bitcoin accumulation remained a central theme this week, with Strive disclosing a $109 million purchase of 1,375 BTC between August 31 and September 4. The firm paid an average of $79,281 per coin, slightly above Bitcoin's reported spot price at the time, and lifted its total holdings to 24,531 BTC worth about $1.9 billion. The move followed a larger purchase of 1,800 BTC for roughly $143 million in the prior week, marking a third consecutive week of growth in Strive's position.
Alongside corporate buying, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $3.8 billion in net inflows over the three weeks to September 5, the strongest stretch of 2026, according to SoSoValue. In the final week of that run alone, ETF buyers added $986.9 million. Despite this demand, Bitcoin traded near $79,376 and slipped below $80,000 as market expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike climbed above 60% on September 8. Traders were watching the September 11 CPI release and the Federal Reserve's September 16 decision as the next key catalysts.
Technical levels in focus included support at $77,307 and $75,538, with a bullish trigger seen above $82,283. Analysts also noted a potential golden cross around September 11, when Bitcoin's 50-day moving average may cross above the 200-day average. Bernstein maintained a late-2026 Bitcoin target of $125,000, according to reports.
Among altcoins, SUI drew attention after the Sui Foundation's buyback activity passed 609,800 SUI for the year following an 8,000 SUI purchase on September 5, though the total buyback pool remained near $490,000. SUI traded at $0.82 and needed to reclaim $0.965 to shift its trend. XRP received validation after the Bank for International Settlements tested the XRP Ledger for tamper-proof statistics on September 2, while validators approved version 3.3.0 with 82.86% support, potentially going live as early as September 11. XRP traded near $1.42.
