Markets turned sharply higher this week as a Treasury announcement that expanded bond buybacks helped push yields and the dollar lower, coinciding with heavy spot ETF inflows and further accumulation by crypto vault firms. The result was one of the strongest weekly rallies in years: Bitcoin and Ethereum broke above key technical levels, while XRP spot ETFs set new inflow records.
Macro move sparks broad rally
The Treasury’s expansion of bond buybacks drove yields lower and weakened the dollar, a backdrop that helped lift risk assets including crypto. Bitcoin rose 23.6% over the week, its second-best weekly gain since February 2021, moving from roughly $62,000 to $79,500. Ethereum outperformed, gaining 31.3% and topping $2,500. Both assets moved above their 200-day moving averages, a widely watched technical threshold.
ETF inflows reinforce momentum
Spot bitcoin and ether ETFs attracted $2.62 billion in new funds, their strongest inflows since October and lifting combined assets by about $23 billion. Separate flows into XRP spot ETFs set a record weekly inflow of $39.78 million, taking cumulative net inflows for XRP funds to a new high of $1.55 billion. Bitwise’s XRP product remained the largest by cumulative inflows at $542.69 million, followed by Canary Capital’s XRPC and Franklin’s XRPZ.
Ethereum’s technical setup vs Bitcoin
The ETH/BTC trading pair formed a bullish “golden cross,” defined by the 50-day moving average crossing above the 200-day moving average, after Ethereum gained about 25% versus Bitcoin from its June 6 low. Historical precedents of such crosses have produced mixed outcomes: a February 2021 signal preceded a 93% rally in the pair, July 2025 initially saw a 36% gain before reversing, and the May and August 2022 crosses proved to be short-lived.
Vault firms accumulate and rebalance
Several institutional and vault-style buyers adjusted holdings during the rally. Strategy sold 18.26 million shares of MSTR for $2 billion between August 17 and 23 without buying additional bitcoin, increasing its dollar reserve to $5.1 billion and creating a $1.59 billion pool of liquidity. The company’s bitcoin holdings of 840,447 BTC were worth $65.8 billion after the rally, translating to an estimated profit of about $2.4 billion on those holdings.
Another firm, Strive, added 1,110 BTC for $81.5 million, bringing its total to 21,356 BTC; its CEO stated a “very strong” belief that the bear market is over. Separately, Tom Lee’s Bitmine Ethereum vault purchased 32,447 ETH for roughly $81 million, raising its total to 5,847,611 ETH valued at about $15 billion. Bitmine is now about 187,000 ETH short of a stated goal to own 5% of Ethereum’s supply, with 87% of its tokens already staked.
XRP volatility amid ETF demand
XRP’s price moved rapidly alongside ETF interest, surging 70% in under 72 hours to a high of $1.70 on Saturday before retreating to about $1.42 and recovering to near $1.50. The spike coincided with the record ETF inflows, underscoring how concentrated demand can quickly affect prices.
What this week means
This week’s developments combined macro liquidity effects, renewed ETF demand and continued accumulation by vaults, producing one of the strongest weekly rallies in recent years and a backdrop in which Ethereum outpaced Bitcoin. Technical signals for ETH versus BTC have varied in reliability historically, and institutional flows remain a prominent driver of recent price moves.
Warning: due to the creator’s dyslexia, some names or references in the episode may contain errors. This article is purely informational and not investment advice; CRYPTO NEWS may have a financial relationship with entities mentioned.