Weekly Wrap: Bitcoin Breaks Out

Bitcoin surged 23% this week to trade at $77,200 U.S. by Aug. 21, marking its biggest rally since 2023. This breakthrough came after the U.S. Treasury lowered bond yields and President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act. Ethereum (ETH) also rose nearly 30% week-over-week after struggling to break resistance at $2,000 U.S. Cryptocurrency firms like Coinbase Global (COIN) and Marathon Digital (MSTR) saw gains of more than 15% each.

After a six-week range between $60,000 U.S. and $65,000 U.S., Bitcoin struck its lowest point of the year at $58,000 U.S. in June. Canadian defense tech firm JTX soared 92% on government revenue boosts. Meanwhile, X (Twitter) is mulling stablecoin payments for creators, while A.I. usage in crypto crimes surged 40%, with TRM Labs rating its adoption at 54 out of 100.

Crypto card spending more than doubled to $759 million U.S. in July, up from $1 million U.S. in October 2023. Famed investor Stanley Druckenmiller boosted his crypto mining stakes with Hut 8, Riot Platforms, and Bitdeer. Meanwhile, Austrian crypto platform Bitpanda received an €81,150 fine for MiCA regulation breaches. Despite the rally, Bitcoin remains far from its October 2022 all-time high of $126,198 U.S.