Bitcoin Tops $76,000 as Ethereum and Altcoins Rally Too

The global cryptocurrency market posted broad gains early Friday, 30 Mordad 1405 (August 21, 2026). According to Arzdigital, Bitcoin reached $76,619 at 11:37 Tehran time, up about 9.7 percent on the day and about 21.9 percent on the week; a data provider recorded Bitcoin at $76,747 at the same time, consistent with Arzdigital's figure. The rally spread across other coins: Ethereum rose 5.7 percent to $2,376.5, XRP rose 19 percent to $1.324, and Cardano rose 14 percent to $0.2097.\n\nThe surge extends a rally that began Wednesday evening, 28 Mordad, after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced expanded buybacks of long-dated Treasury debt, which took Bitcoin from about $69,000 on Thursday, 29 Mordad, to its current level. Arzdigital separately reported that Ethereum balances on exchanges fell 15 percent over the past eleven weeks (through 27 Mordad), from 7.7 million to about 6.54 million units, a trend it said, citing analytics firm Santiment, reflects a preference among holders for long-term custody; over the same period Bitcoin exchange balances rose about 1.8 percent.