Bitcoin Defies Macro Headwinds on $2 Billion Cash Surge

The recent resilience of Bitcoin's price can be attributed to a $2 billion cash surge that absorbed speculative leverage, according to data from Glassnode. This influx of funds was largely driven by spot Bitcoin ETFs, which absorbed $2.23 billion during the initial squeeze, with no single outflow day and the strongest seven-day intake of 2026.

The same period saw a further $314.3 million in inflows on August 25 alone, led by $284.4 million into BlackRock's IBIT, extending the run of positive days from August 17 through August 25 to roughly $2.6 billion. Every wallet-size cohort was accumulating at the same time, from small holders to the largest addresses.

Despite the macro headwind created by July's PCE inflation reading holding at 3.7% headline and 3.3% core, both still above the Fed's target, Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $79,251.60 on August 26, trading near $78,000 as of press time.

The odds of a September rate hike increased to roughly 44%, up from 36% before the report. However, experts like Bitget Research chief analyst Ryan Lee expect Bitcoin's price to continue taking direction from elsewhere, in ETF flows, spot liquidity and derivatives positioning.