Bitcoin Price Stabilises Near $78,000
Bitcoin traded at $78,062 as of 17:10 ET on Saturday, representing a 0.9% rise over the session after the cryptocurrency had touched above $81,000 earlier in the week. The price held steady around the $78,000 level following a sharp pullback from three‑month highs.
Shifting Correlation Dynamics
Grayscale data indicate that Bitcoin’s 90‑day correlation with gold has climbed to just over 50%, up from near‑zero at the start of 2026. In contrast, its correlation with the Nasdaq 100 has dropped to roughly 33% from a previous level above 60%, suggesting investors are increasingly treating Bitcoin as a scarce monetary asset rather than a proxy for technology stocks.
Macro Context: U.S. Fiscal Concerns
The correlation shift coincides with renewed concerns about U.S. fiscal policy after federal debt surpassed $40 trillion. Rising borrowing requirements and Treasury bond buybacks have revived the so‑called debasement trade, which traditionally benefits scarce assets such as gold and Bitcoin.
On‑Chain Activity Highlights
Galaxy Research, citing CoinDesk, reported that six wallets dormant since between 2011 and 2014 moved a total of 553.59 BTC (approximately $40 million) between 16 August and 26 August. Five of these wallets sent coins to addresses with no known exchange links, while one transferred 40 BTC to Boerse Stuttgart Digital. Galaxy noted that dormant Bitcoin activity in the second quarter fell to its lowest level since 2022, and that 2026 is on track for less than half of last year’s total dormant‑wallet activity.
Executive Outlooks
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong stated that Bitcoin has a “good chance” of reaching $100,000 by year‑end. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao argued that Bitcoin could eventually overtake gold’s market capitalization.
Quantum‑Computing Risks
Ripple outlined a four‑stage plan to make the XRP Ledger quantum‑resistant, while developers of Bitcoin and Ethereum are also working on migration strategies to protect against future quantum‑computing threats to existing digital signatures.
Broader Crypto Market Movements
Altcoins mostly posted declines on Saturday. Ether rose 0.9% to $2,450.49, XRP gained 1.1% to $1.3963, Solana increased 1.3%, and BNB rose 0.66% to $692.67. Cardano slipped 0.2% to $0.2098. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin fell 0.4% while the TRUMP token rose 2.2%.
Market Snapshot
Indices showed the Nasdaq 100 down 0.70%, Gold Spot down 3.19%, and the gold futures (GC) down 3.43%. Bitcoin itself was up 0.50%, Ethereum up 0.49%, XRP up 0.79%, while Coinbase shares fell 6.33%.