U.S. Treasury Buyback Sparks $500B Crypto Rally to $2.74T

Altcoins posted even larger percentage gains. Zcash surged nearly 70% to peak just above $873 after trading at $490 on Aug. 16. The privacy coin's market cap rose past $14.5 billion, nearly double that of rival Monero. XRP, after dipping below $1 for the first time since November 2024, joined the broader recovery and surged to near $1.70 early on Aug. 22. It later settled above $1.50, maintaining a 51% weekly gain, making it the best-performing major altcoin behind Zcash.

HYPE vaulted to a record $82.43 on Saturday after President Donald Trump advocated for Hyperliquid's expansion into the U.S. The token's market capitalization reached $18 billion, up from $25 at the start of the year. Most high-cap altcoins notched weekly gains above 20%, with only a handful of tokens declining. WLFI fell 5%, while BEAT and H posted the deepest losses, dropping 63% and 50%, respectively.

Grayscale said the rally could mark a turning point after what it described as a relatively shallow bear market for bitcoin. The firm did not specify a price target or timeline.