Bitcoin is back, but potential Clarity Act fail and Dem midterms win could come for crypto prices

Bitcoin's price has shown recent strength, with the cryptocurrency rising roughly 20% over the past month and back near the $80,000 level. For the volatile digital asset class, sharp moves are nothing new and bitcoin's performance in 2026 remains negative. It's still down close to 10% this year.

The reasons for the recent rebound are multiple. In late August, the crypto market started moving past the latest "washout" that had occurred on August 19, one of the largest crypto liquidation events in recent history.

"We had some significant leverage," said Michael Bucella, co-founder and managing partner of crypto investing firm Neoclassic Capital, on this week's "ETF Edge."

That pressured selling was followed by what Bucella describes as some "decent follow through on spot [market] and ETF buying."

Flows into bitcoin ETFs have been on the rebound, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) taking in roughly $3.5 billion in net flows from investors in the past month, and close to getting back to even in flows for the year.

"That's good to see, it's healthy in terms of building out a base," Bucella said of the recent buying.

"We're still down on the year, and well off highs, but the next level to watch is $83,000 to $86,000. There's a lot of long-term supply to chew through, but if we get past there, we're in pretty good territory," he added.