Key Takeaways
- • Macro catalysts and a 22% bitcoin jump pushed the total crypto market cap past $2.74 trillion in mid-August.
- Zcash surged 70% and XRP gained 51% as broad demand drove most major altcoin valuations up by over 20%.
- Donald Trump’s backing sent HYPE to an $82.43 peak, setting up strong momentum for crypto expansion in the U.S.
Bitcoin Trims Year-to-Date Drawdown
After a sluggish start to August, the cryptocurrency market surged during the third week of the month, propelled by a U.S. Treasury bond buyback announcement and a White House meeting reaffirming the Trump administration’s support for the sector. Led by bitcoin, the broader crypto market cap expanded by $500 billion to peak near $2.74 trillion—its highest level since early May.
Bitcoin preserved most of its mid-week momentum despite a brief Sunday dip below $76,000, quickly rebounding above $77,000. Market data showed the digital asset finished the week up 22% after nearly breaching $80,000 on Aug. 21. The rally drove bitcoin’s market capitalization to $1.55 trillion and narrowed its year-to-date losses to roughly 12%—a sharp recovery from a nearly 30% drawdown at the start of the month.
While bitcoin anchored the broader market rally, Zcash posted the week’s top performance, surging nearly 70% to peak just above $873 after trading at $490 on Aug. 16. The privacy coin’s rally pushed its market capitalization past $14.5 billion—nearly double that of main rival Monero. XRP also saw significant momentum, joining the broader altcoin surge.
Meanwhile, after dipping below $1 for the first time since mid-November 2024, XRP joined the broader market recovery before surging near $1.70 early Aug. 22. Despite easing back to trade above $1.50, the token maintained a 51% weekly gain, making it the top-performing major altcoin behind ZEC.
HYPE capitalized heavily on the broader market momentum, vaulting to a record high of $82.43 on Saturday. The rally was fueled in part by comments from President Donald Trump advocating for Hyperliquid’s expansion into the U.S. The milestone surge propelled HYPE’s market capitalization toward $18 billion—a staggering trajectory for a token that opened the year trading at just $25.
Outside of a few exceptions—including TRX, BNB, RAIN, XMR, and LEO—most high-cap altcoins notched weekly gains above 20%, underscoring how the U.S. Treasury’s announcement reignited investor appetite. Broadly, only a small subset of tokens ended the week in negative territory. WLFI led the minor decliners with a 5% drop, while BEAT and H suffered the market’s deepest sell-offs overall, plunging 63% and 50%, respectively.
