Bitcoin surges beyond $75,000 as rally strengthens

Bitcoin climbed above $75,000 on Friday, extending a sharp advance fuelled by improving liquidity conditions, heavy short-covering and renewed optimism over cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded around $75,400 during early Asian hours after reclaiming the level for the first time since late May. Bitcoin gained about 8% over 24 hours and roughly 19% over the week, marking one of its strongest short-term advances of 2026.

Ether also strengthened, rising close to 5% to around $2,376, while XRP outperformed larger digital assets with a gain of about 16% to $1.29. The broad advance followed several months of pressure that had pushed Bitcoin well below the record levels reached in late 2025.

The latest leg of the rally accelerated after Bitcoin broke through technical resistance around $70,000 and $72,000, triggering forced purchases by traders who had positioned for further declines. More than $2.7 billion in cryptocurrency short positions were liquidated during the initial surge, creating one of the largest short squeezes recorded in the digital-asset market.

“Bears in pain, right now,” bitcoin analyst James Check wrote as the cryptocurrency crossed $75,000. Check had previously identified the area around Bitcoin’s 200-week moving average and the short-term holder cost basis as important levels for assessing whether momentum was shifting back towards buyers.

Macroeconomic developments have provided another catalyst. The US Treasury moved to increase purchases of longer-dated government bonds following volatility in the Treasury market, helping pull borrowing costs lower and encouraging demand for assets viewed as alternatives to the dollar and conventional fixed-income securities.

The move was interpreted by some investors as a liquidity-support measure, although its scale remains considerably smaller than the quantitative easing programmes deployed during earlier financial crises. Bitcoin nevertheless reacted strongly as traders anticipated easier financial conditions and reduced pressure from rising bond yields.

Demand through exchange-traded funds has also strengthened. US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $517 million in net inflows during Wednesday’s trading, their largest daily inflow since early May. Eight of the 12 funds recorded positive flows, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust receiving about $285 million.

Those flows suggest the rally is not being driven solely by leveraged traders closing bearish positions. Institutional products have become an increasingly important source of Bitcoin demand since US regulators approved spot ETFs, allowing traditional investment managers to gain exposure without holding cryptocurrency directly.

Regulatory expectations have added to the positive sentiment. President Donald Trump this week urged Congress to advance legislation establishing clearer rules for digital assets during a White House gathering attended by senior cryptocurrency executives and regulatory officials.

The Clarity Act seeks to establish a more defined framework for determining whether digital assets fall under securities or commodities regulation and how responsibility should be divided among federal agencies. The legislation has stalled in the Senate amid disagreements over consumer protection, banking provisions and potential conflicts of interest involving political figures with cryptocurrency holdings.

Crypto-related equities benefited from the change in sentiment. Coinbase, Strategy and several cryptocurrency mining companies recorded strong gains as Bitcoin moved higher, reflecting expectations that improved token prices could lift trading volumes, corporate balance sheets and mining revenues.

The speed of the advance is also prompting caution. Bitcoin has moved from below $65,000 to above $75,000 within days, leaving momentum indicators stretched and increasing the possibility of sharp volatility if traders begin taking profits.

The cryptocurrency remains well below its peak above $126,000 reached in October 2025, meaning the latest rebound has recovered only part of the losses accumulated during the subsequent downturn.