Bitcoin tops $79,000 as traders eye $80,000 resistance before Jackson Hole

Bitcoin rose 2.1 percent to $78,976 at 9 a.m. ET Monday, extending a five-day rally of more than 30 percent as traders positioned for a test of the $80,000 resistance level. The move pushed Bitcoin's market capitalization to roughly $1.33 trillion, well ahead of Ethereum's $233 billion.

"It's a macro story, not a crypto one," James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, said. Softer inflation and weaker payrolls have undermined the case for further Fed tightening, he said, with short-dated yields falling as bond investors no longer expect additional rate hikes. He called $80,000 "an important upper boundary" for the market.

Bitcoin is up 21.8 percent from a month ago, when it traded at $64,832, though still 30.4 percent below its all-time high of $126,198 set on Oct. 6, 2025. Ethereum traded at $2,506, up 1.6 percent on the day, with both assets posting their strongest weekend in months. Ethereum is up 31.2 percent over the past month but remains 48.4 percent below its record high of $4,954 set on Aug. 24, 2025.

Institutional selling pressure builds

Long liquidations surpassed $647 million as the price retraced from highs, with Jump Crypto moving 1,140 BTC worth $89 million to Binance and a separate whale selling 2,700 BTC valued at $211.8 million, according to Lookonchain data. The whale has now sold 7,700 BTC worth $576.6 million over three days. Collectively, the institution and the whale accounted for more than $300 million in BTC selling pressure.

BlackRock has continued buying during the rally, according to AMBCrypto, even as other institutions take profits. The divergence between buyers and sellers has widened the range of outcomes for the near term. Bitcoin's relative strength index hit 86 before cooling to 80, its most overbought reading since November 2024, suggesting the rally may be stretched.

$80,000: The key test

The Fed's Jackson Hole symposium this week will be the key test for the rally. A break above $80,000 could trigger further momentum buying, while rejection could lead to a short-term correction. Sell orders stacked between $79,000 and $80,000 on Binance total more than $92 million.

Whales had stopped selling and begun to accumulate again, Butterfill wrote, though not yet at a scale that would imply "an immediate and sustained breakout," which he did not expect over the next 12 months. Bitcoin's hourly chart shows the price has lost its 9 and 26 simple moving averages, with the MACD flipping red as the price briefly dipped below $77,000 before recovering. Support sits between $74,000 and $76,000, where large whale orders are clustered.

The combination of easing monetary expectations and growing doubts over sovereign debt sustainability has historically been a constructive environment for Bitcoin, Butterfill said. If the Fed indicates a pause or pivot at Jackson Hole, the path toward $80,000 and beyond could open up. If it pushes back against market expectations, Bitcoin could face a sharp retracement toward the $74,000 support zone.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.