Crypto Market Cap Reclaims $3 Trillion as Bitcoin Nears $87,000 on ETF Inflows

The total value of all cryptocurrencies has climbed back above $3 trillion for the first time since January, powered by a surge of institutional money into US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and a wave of forced short covering that lifted major altcoins across the board.

Bitcoin briefly traded near $87,300 on Monday, its highest level in roughly nine months, before settling back into the mid-$85,000 range. The rally that began with the largest digital asset quickly spread through the broader market, pulling up Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Dogecoin along the way.

Dogecoin stood out among the gainers, jumping 14% as a short squeeze forced bearish traders to buy back positions rapidly. XRP and several other large-cap altcoins also outpaced Bitcoin during stretches of the rebound, signaling that momentum had broadened well beyond a single asset.

Institutional demand was the clearest catalyst. Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in approximately $999 million in net inflows on September 21, their strongest single-day showing in nearly a year. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust led the pack with roughly $381 million, followed by ARK 21Shares at $289 million and Fidelity at about $239 million.

The nearly $1 billion influx reinforced the view that the latest upswing is anchored in genuine spot buying rather than speculative derivatives activity. Analysts pointed to the ETF flows as evidence that institutional investors are playing an increasingly influential role in shaping overall market dynamics.