Bitcoin’s rally over $81,000 is finding real buyers, but options traders still aren’t pricing a clean breakout

Bitcoin accelerated above $81,000 on Thursday as easing rate fears and fresh institutional demand lifted the broader crypto market.

On Sept. 3, Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said he could support keeping interest rates unchanged this month if August inflation continues to cool, helping push the market-implied odds of a September rate increase to roughly 50% from about 65% earlier in the day. Treasury yields declined following the remarks.

This news helped spark a rally across major cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum, XRP and Solana gaining more than 5%, while Zcash and Cardano climbed more than 10%.

Fresh capital starts replacing the short squeeze

Bitcoin’s rally is beginning to draw fresh capital from several parts of the market after its initial advance relied heavily on bearish traders being forced out of positions.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $730.9 million on Thursday, their largest daily inflow since January. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for roughly $454 million, while products from Fidelity, Grayscale and others also attracted capital.

The inflows provide a stronger source of demand after CryptoQuant found that much of Bitcoin’s earlier push toward $81,000 was driven by shorts being liquidated or closed, with relatively few traders opening new long positions. That left the first phase of the rebound dependent on forced buying that fades as bearish positions are cleared.