Bitcoin Stalls Near $78,000 as Fed Hawkishness Takes Hold
The Bitcoin price stalled near $78,000 after its strongest weekly candle in over three years. The cryptocurrency had surged 26 percent in August, briefly hitting $81,000, but failed to hold above $80,000. Michael Saylor's company Strategy is buying again, with a $369.7 million purchase of 4,603 BTC at an average price of $80,318 per coin.
The market is still adjusting to the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance under Chairman Kevin Warsh. The Fed Chair's speech in late August pushed rate hike expectations higher, cutting short Bitcoin's rally. Despite this, US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs pulled in a combined $2.6 billion in a single week, their best result since October 2025.
Privacy coins like Zcash and Monero are outperforming the market, with ZEC hitting an eight-year high of $888 on August 25 and gaining over 60 percent in seven days against Bitcoin's 20 percent. The catalysts for this rally include Grayscale's ZCSH ETF listing on NYSE Arca and 4.81 million ZEC sitting in shielded pools as of August 27.