Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) surged to a fresh weekly high of $122,026 on Wednesday before falling back below $121,000, capping a broad cryptocurrency market advance that lifted total capitalization to $4.189 trillion, according to CoinGecko data.
What Happened: The latest milestone came as major altcoins posted double-digit gains, led by Ethereum's (CRYPTO: ETH) powerful rally toward its all-time high.
The market has rebounded sharply from early August lows, when Bitcoin briefly dipped below $113,000 and the total market cap fell under $3.8 trillion.
Since then, prices have risen more than 10%, supported by growing institutional inflows, stronger macro sentiment, and renewed interest in blockchain applications.
The apex cryptocurrency is now barely 1% away from its all time high of $122,838.
Ethereum was the standout performer of the day, climbing 10% to $4,692, just 4% shy of its November 2021 peak of $4,861.
The move was fueled by $524 million in net inflows to U.S.-listed spot ETH ETFs on Tuesday, nearly eight times the daily inflows to Bitcoin ETFs.
Corporate treasuries have been accumulating ETH in size, echoing Bitcoin accumulation strategies, with companies like Bitmine (AMEX:BMNR) and Sharplink Gaming (NASDAQ:SBET) purchasing over 2 million ETH since June.
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What Experts Are Saying: Speaking with Benzinga, James Toledano, Chief Operating Officer at Unity Wallet, said, “The recent surge of ETH has been fueled by massive institutional inflows, including companies like Bitmine and Sharplink Gaming acquiring over 2 million ETH since June, not to forget the significant demand for a spot ETF.
These come alongside renewed regulatory optimism thanks to stablecoin legislation and the SEC's ‘Project Crypto' agenda, which supports broader DeFi expansion.
Additionally, strong technical momentum, increased NFT and DeFi usage, and renewed enthusiasm around staking and tokenization narratives have reinforced upward pressure on price.
Ethereum is within about 4% of its ATH, and continued ETF inflows and institutional demand could plausibly push it to new highs.
However, there's reason for caution: derivatives data show traders remain guarded rather than euphoric, and macroeconomic or recession fears could dampen momentum.
Regulatory setbacks or a waning macro environment could also stall the rally below $5,000 this cycle.”
Bitcoin's dominance has slipped from roughly 60% earlier this month to just over 57%, as altcoins like Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) advanced.
Solana jumped 15% to reclaim the $200 mark for the first time since late July, boosting its market cap to around $109 billion within $10 billion of fifth-ranked (CRYPTO: BNB), which rose 6% to $856.
Cardano's ADA climbed 11.7%, while Dogecoin gained 9.1%.
Highlighting Ethereum's leadership role, Stella Zlatareva, Nexo Dispatch editor told Benzinga that Ethereum has cemented its role as the cycle's standout asset, drawing substantial corporate treasury allocations and fresh retail participation. #
U.S. inflation data was mixed, headline CPI at 2.7% versus 2.8% expected, core at 3.1% versus 3.0%, reinforcing expectations for a 25bp Fed rate cut in September.
With macro risks easing and flows building, the setup remains favorable into Jackson Hole later this month.”
Macro conditions also lent support. U.S. equities closed at record highs on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 up 1.1%, the Nasdaq rising 1.4%, and the Dow gaining 483 points.
Gold climbed 0.3% to $3,359.54 per ounce as traders priced in a 96% probability of a September rate cut.
Charles Wayn, co-founder of web3 growth platform Galxe, said the rally reflects more than just price moves.
“It's encouraging to see a rally in spirits as the cryptocurrency sector enjoys some momentum. Indeed, it's really a testament to the hard work that so many builders have put in over recent months and many years, and reminds us all that web3 is so much more than the price of a single, or even a handful of tokens,” he said.
“It really is the collective effort of so many developers who are continuously working on genuinely game-changing products and building communities that will remain loyal and faithful even when the bad times come. This is the important work of web3, which never stops – come rain or shine,” he added.
Traders are watching Thursday's U.S. Producer Price Index data and the Aug. 21–23 Jackson Hole symposium for further macro signals.
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