Bitcoin Surges Past $77K as Crypto Market Sees Unexpected Turnaround

The crypto market is witnessing an unexpected turnaround, with Bitcoin reaching $77,000 after being up over 20% for the week. However, the question remains whether this is a broad-based recovery or just Bitcoin performing well.

Ether has outperformed Bitcoin and several major altcoins have increased by over 10%. The Altcoin Season Index, however, is nowhere near its critical threshold to confirm an altseason. This raises doubts about whether we are indeed entering the crypto bull market 2026 or just seeing a recovery in Bitcoin.

The reasons behind this sharp increase include improved liquidity due to the U.S. Treasury's expansion of its bond buyback program, institutional demand through U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs drawing $1.6 billion in net inflows, regulatory optimism with the White House supporting Bitcoin-friendly market structure legislation, and the crushing of leveraged shorts.