Bitcoin breaks $81,000 as crypto market cap hits $2.82 trillion

Bitcoin rose 5.4 percent to $81,460 on Thursday, lifting the total crypto market capitalization to $2.82 trillion — the highest level in more than seven months.

"Bitcoin breaking the $80k wall, fueled by $100 million of ETF inflows and OTC activity, was enough to banish the bears ahead of U.S. economic data," Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent, said.

Zcash's ZEC token led gains among the top 50 cryptocurrencies, jumping 16.5 percent. Cardano rose 13 percent while Dogecoin and XRP each climbed roughly 10 percent. The rally extended to crypto-linked equities: Strategy and Circle gained 15 percent, Coinbase rose about 10 percent, and Strategy's STRC preferred shares recovered to near their $100 par value after trading as low as $69 five weeks ago.

Markets are nearly evenly split on the Federal Reserve's Sept. 16 decision, with traders pricing a 50.4 percent chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike and a 49.6 percent chance of a hold. Options positioning shows roughly $1.4 billion in September bitcoin puts between $68,000 and $75,000, while call open interest concentrates between $82,000 and $100,000 — a "hedged long" posture, according to Adam Haeems, head of asset management at Tesseract.

The move marks a sharp recovery from the January sell-off, when total market capitalization fell from about $3.4 trillion in mid-January to roughly $2.3 trillion in the first week of February. Bitcoin's rise alongside gold reflects the so-called debasement trade as investors weigh government debt concerns that could prompt monetary support, said Richard Green, head of institutional at RootstockLabs.

"The closer those conditions get to crisis levels, the more investors allocate capital towards assets, particularly hard assets," Green said, while cautioning that further drawdowns remain possible.

Howard said a revival in memecoin trading has also helped lay the groundwork for what he expects could be a steady climb toward $100,000 by year-end. The heavy call positioning between $82,000 and $100,000 aligns with that trajectory, though the $1.4 billion in put protection below $75,000 suggests investors remain wary of a pullback.

The synchronized advance across crypto and equities points to a broader risk-on environment rather than a token-specific squeeze. With the Fed decision and U.S. inflation data still ahead this month, the sustainability of the rally may hinge on whether policymakers signal further tightening or hold steady.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.