Cryptocurrency bulls are back on the advance after a couple of weeks in which bears made a concerted effort to reclaim the ground lost in July. Since hitting a record high above $123,000 on July 14, Bitcoin (BTC) entered a period of consolidation, largely holding above $118,000, before world events helped bears drive the price of King Crypto to a low of $111,940 on August 3.
Since then, bulls have taken control, stair-stepping BTC back above $119,000 to hit a high of $122,290 on Monday, and are looking poised to push into uncharted territory.
BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView
Aiding bulls in their efforts was the Tuesday release of the July US Consumer Price Index (CPI), which showed inflation holding at 2.7% year-over-year, unchanged from June and below the 2.8% forecast.
The boost in Bitcoin’s price comes as market watchers continue to increase their expectations for a September Fed interest rate cut, with the CME FedWatch tool indicating a 94.2% probability of a 25-basis-point cut. While the CPI data shows that inflation remains above the Fed’s target rate of 2%, many hope that the improvement thus far will convince them to lower rates and ease financial pressures.
Cryptos also saw a spike in prices and trading volume after U.S. President Donald Trump directed financial regulators to expand access to alternative investments in 401(k) plans, including digital assets and privately owned companies.
According to market analyst Merlijn The Trader, the ensuing recovery marked the end of Bitcoin accumulation, and up next comes the face-melting parabolic phase.
Bitcoin Accumulation is over. Manipulation is done.
— Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) August 11, 2025
Now comes the parabolic phase.$BTC is about to move faster than you think.
Are you positioned… or watching from the sidelines? pic.twitter.com/rrkDAPsPUI
While altcoins have outpaced BTC’s gains recently, market analyst Daan Crypto Trades suggested that “new all time highs should put the spotlight back on BTC a bit and might also make it outperform again as it moves higher into price discovery.”
He added that this “depends on the pace of the move,” noting that “If it's slow and steady, alts could keep outperforming. But if we get some bigger candles, it's likely BTC siphons away some liquidity & bid from alts again.”
And while some have given more conservative price targets of $140,000 to $150,000 for a Bitcoin peak this cycle, macro strategist Gert van Lagen says that BTC has the potential to top out at $370,000 if it follows the same path as previous cycles.
$BTC [1M] — Would it surprise you if Bitcoin’s cycle top lands in September/October at ~$370K?
— Gert van Lagen (@GertvanLagen) August 11, 2025
It rhymes with the 35-month bull market, followed by the 12-month bear market sequence of past cycles. pic.twitter.com/hNkg2AvoQ4
At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $119,593, an increase of 5.5% on the 7-day chart.
Ethereum Eyes a New All-Time High
Bitcoin has been the darling of institutional investors throughout this bull market cycle, but that is starting to change, with Ether (ETH) now coming into focus.
Since hitting a low of $1,383 on April 9, ETH has skyrocketed more than 235%, hitting a high of $4,652 in the early trading hours on Wednesday, just 5% below its all-time high of $4,876 set in November 2021.
ETH/USD 1-week chart. Source: TradingView
Along with more than $1 billion worth of inflows into spot ETH ETFs on Monday, the largest daily inflow since the ETF's launch, an unidentified crypto whale purchased $1.34 billion worth of Ether over the past eight days, ahead of the highly anticipated CPI report.
According to the crypto intelligence platform Lookonchain, the heavy hitter acquired 312,052 Ether across 10 newly created cryptocurrency wallets in just over a week, likely anticipating that good news would provide a price boost.
The top smart contract platform and highest-ranking altcoin also got a boost from what some are calling its “Michael Saylor” moment after blockchain technology firm BitMine Immersion Technologies announced plans to raise up to $20 billion for ETH purchases.
We finally got our $ETH Michael Saylor.
— Ted (@TedPillows) August 12, 2025
Bitmine wants to buy $20,000,000,000 Ethereum.
Lets gooooooo ? pic.twitter.com/5XHJdnyNqf
Just the day prior, BitMine disclosed that it already holds $4.96 billion worth of Ether, and this latest announcement means it’s looking to quintuple its ETH treasury.
Crypto Twitter has taken notice of the sudden surge in institutional interest and is drawing comparisons to Bitcoin’s ascent post-institutionalization.
Tom Lee is raising and planning on buying $20B worth of $ETH
— Johnny (@CryptoGodJohn) August 13, 2025
Michael Saylor has bought nearly $43B worth of $BTC and the price has risen from $10k to $120k
Add ETFs accumulation $SBET & other treasury’s
Wow that’s a lot of buy power in a short period of time
Among the super bullish crowd is Merlijn The Trader, who highlighted the similarities between this cycle and the 2016-2017 cycle, which could see Ether rise as high as $30,000; however, many doubt this possibility.
Ethereum is running the 2016–2017 playbook.
— Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) August 12, 2025
Last time: pure retail mania.
This time: retail + Wall Street + unstoppable global adoption.
When $ETH breaks, it won’t wait.
Be in… or be exit liquidity. pic.twitter.com/UX89fcZiA0
At the time of writing, Ether trades at $4,661, an increase of 30.5% on the 7-day chart.
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