Bitcoin posts its second-best week since 2021 as Dollar weakens

Bitcoin gained 23.6% in the week to 21 August 2026, its second-best weekly performance since February 2021, according to CoinDesk. Expanded U.S. Treasury bond buybacks pushed yields and the dollar lower, lifting risk assets.

Bitcoin gained 23.6% in the week to 21 August

Bitcoin gained 23.6% over the five sessions to 21 August 2026, its second-best weekly performance since February 2021, according to CoinDesk's analysis of Glassnode data. Only the rally that followed the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023 was larger. The token climbed from about $62,000 to a high of $79,500, then settled near $77,000. Other trackers put the weekly move slightly higher, at 24.6%, a spread that reflects different snapshot times for the week's open and close.

Ether rose 31.3% and outpaced Bitcoin

Ether gained 31.3% over the same week, rising from below $1,900 to above $2,520 before easing back under $2,500, according to CoinDesk. The tracker InflowScan recorded a 34.1% gain across the period. Both readings place ether ahead of bitcoin for the week.

A Treasury buyback plan pushed yields and the Dollar lower

The move followed a change in U.S. debt management. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an expansion of Treasury bond buybacks on 19 August 2026, raising the maximum per operation from $2 billion to at least $4 billion. The 30-year Treasury yield had reached 5.337% the previous day, its highest since 2007. Yields and the dollar fell after the announcement, and both moves supported risk assets. The change takes effect on 9 September 2026. CoinDesk reported that crypto had spent several months in a narrow range before the announcement, with volatility at multi-year lows, which left positioning sensitive to any catalyst.

Both assets closed above their 200-day moving averages

The rally carried bitcoin and ether above their 200-day simple moving averages, according to CoinDesk. That measure tracks an asset's longer-term price trend. CoinDesk also reported that shorter-term averages have started to turn higher, which raises the prospect of a golden cross, the point at which the 50-day average rises above the 200-day average. Traders watch that crossover as a momentum signal. It has not yet occurred for either asset.

ETF inflows reached their highest level since October

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drew $1.92 billion over the five trading sessions from 17 to 21 August 2026, and spot ether funds took $697 million, according to SoSoValue data. Both totals were the strongest since October 2025. Outside crypto, CoinDesk reported that the U.S. Dollar Index fell to 98.9, below its 200-day average of 99.1, while gold rose above $4,600 after a 15% gain over the past month, moving above its own 200-day average of $4,504. CoinDesk tied the move to renewed talk of the "debasement trade", a term for investors shifting into scarce assets such as bitcoin and gold to guard against a loss of purchasing power in fiat currencies caused by rising debt, money creation or persistent inflation.

Bitcoin traded at $77,779 on Monday

Bitcoin traded at $77,779 on 24 August 2026, up 1.0% over the previous 24 hours and 22.4% over the past seven days, a rolling window that differs from the Monday-to-Friday week (CoinPaprika, 24 August 2026). Its 24-hour trading volume reached $28.6 billion. Bitcoin remains 38.3% below the record of $126,173 it set on 6 October 2025. Ether traded at $2,468, up 29.8% over seven days, and remains 50.1% below its own record of $4,946, set on 24 August 2025.