Bitcoin price extended its breakout to $72,490 on Aug. 20 after forced short covering pushed the price through its 200-day moving averages, but an overbought daily reading raises the risk of a pullback.

Bitcoin price breaks above its 200-day averages

According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price traded near $71,900 on Binance at the time of writing, up about 3.8% on the daily chart after reaching $72,490 earlier in the session.

The move extended a breakout that began when BTC cleared the $64,000–$66,000 range that had contained the price through much of July and the first half of August. Bitcoin rose from below $65,000 to nearly $70,000 during the first stage of the rally before buyers pushed it above $72,000.

The daily chart shows that Bitcoin has now crossed its 200-day simple moving average at approximately $69,010 and its 200-day exponential moving average near the same level. BTC had remained below both trend indicators since its sharp June decline.

The breakout also took Bitcoin above its shorter moving averages. The 20-day SMA stood at $64,595, while the 50-day and 100-day averages were grouped between $64,264 and $66,211.

That cluster may become a wider support area if the price gives back part of the rally. Holding above the 200-day averages would provide a stronger sign that the move represents more than a temporary derivatives-driven rebound.

Short liquidations accelerated the Bitcoin rally

The one-week CoinGlass liquidation heatmap shows that Bitcoin moved through several layers of leveraged short positions as it crossed $66,000, $68,000, and $70,000.

The densest liquidity visible before the breakout was concentrated around $65,000–$66,000. Once Bitcoin crossed that area, forced purchases by traders closing bearish positions helped carry the price toward $69,000.

Further short-liquidation bands between $69,000 and $71,000 added fuel to the advance. The heatmap shows fewer established liquidation clusters above the current price because BTC reached the area rapidly and had spent little time building leveraged positions there.

The rally followed a long period of compression around $63,000–$65,000. Market data supplied with the charts showed more than $1 billion in Bitcoin short liquidations during one hour, and $2.7 billion in bearish positions closed across the broader crypto market.

Liquidations can increase the speed of a move because exchanges automatically buy Bitcoin to close short positions. However, demand generated by forced covering can fade once the largest short clusters have been cleared.

Momentum supports buyers but RSI warns of overheating

Bitcoin’s 4-hour chart remains bullish after the Supertrend indicator flipped positive. Its trailing level has risen to $67,752, placing the first dynamic support roughly 6% below the current price.

The Chaikin Money Flow reading of 0.28 also shows that buying pressure has accompanied the breakout. A positive CMF reading means more volume has entered Bitcoin during periods when the price closed near the upper part of its trading range.

The daily chart carries a clearer warning. Bitcoin’s 14-day relative strength index jumped to 78.7, well above the 70 level commonly used to mark overbought conditions.

An overbought RSI does not require an immediate reversal, especially during a short squeeze. It does show that the rally has moved faster than its recent trend, increasing the chance of consolidation or profit-taking.

The latest daily candle also produced a high near $72,490 before the price eased below $72,000. Buyers must therefore turn the $69,000–$70,000 region into support to prevent the breakout from becoming a brief move above the 200-day averages.

Analysts watch $67K and $65K for a pullback

Crypto trader Daan Crypto Trades said in an Aug. 20 X post that Bitcoin had made a higher high and was testing its daily 200-day moving-average region.

Daan placed the move inside a wider $60,000–$80,000 range and said the trend had improved on the daily chart. However, the trader expected volatility to remain elevated after Bitcoin escaped the compressed range.

Lennart Snyder offered a more cautious assessment in a separate X post. Snyder said Bitcoin had entered a larger range but remained below important resistance, leading him to favor waiting for the price to settle before opening a new position.

Snyder identified the midpoint of the breakout candle around $67,000 as one area where momentum traders could look for support. He placed a deeper potential buying zone at $65,000–$66,000, near the upper boundary of Bitcoin’s former consolidation range.

Those levels broadly match the technical charts. The 4-hour Supertrend stands near $67,752, while the daily moving-average cluster between $64,264 and $66,211 could offer support during a larger retracement.

On the upside, a sustained close above $72,500 would leave the $74,000 area as the next nearby psychological level. Bitcoin would then face a broader supply region between $78,000 and $80,000, where the market traded before the June sell-off.

US liquidity and ETF demand remain key

The breakout came as US Treasury yields and the dollar pulled back following the Treasury Department’s reported plan to increase long-dated bond buybacks from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation in September.

Lower yields can support non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin by reducing the relative return available from government bonds, though the derivatives data indicate that forced short covering was a major immediate driver of the rally.

Data from SoSoValue also showed $517 million in net inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Aug. 19. Continued ETF demand would offer stronger evidence that institutional buying is replacing the short squeeze as the source of support.

A renewed rise in US yields, weaker ETF flows, or a daily close below $69,000 would weaken the breakout. Holding the 200-day averages while the RSI cools would give buyers a firmer base for another attempt above $72,500.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a surge in demand on Wednesday, pulling in $517.2 million in net inflows—marking their biggest single day since May 4. That strong session helped lift total August net inflows to $1.47 billion, extending a momentum shift that has become increasingly noticeable as the month progresses.

According to data referenced by Cointelegraph, the funds have drawn in roughly $1 billion since Monday, representing their strongest weekly net inflow since the week ended Jan. 16, when they attracted about $1.42 billion.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $517.2 million in net inflows on Wednesday, the largest single-day figure since May 4.
• August net inflows reached $1.47 billion as inflow strength continued after Monday’s near-$1 billion total.
• Spot Ether ETFs added $189.2 million in net inflows on Wednesday, bringing this week’s Ether inflows to about $291.5 million.
• ETF inflows coincided with a broad crypto price rally and US Treasury action to expand long-dated debt buybacks.
• Market attention also returned to US crypto policy progress, following renewed discussion of the CLARITY Act.

ETFs post best day since May amid risk-sensitive market signals

The latest ETF numbers arrived alongside a rising crypto tape. At the time of writing on Thursday, Bitcoin was trading near $72,000, up 11% over the prior 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Ether also gained sharply, up 19% to $2,286.

The close timing matters because it suggests the inflows were not isolated to ETF-specific flows alone. Instead, they came during a day when broader market conditions appeared to favor assets perceived as hedges against currency debasement rather than pure “risk-on” trades.

Cointelegraph quoted Jonatan Randin, senior market analyst at PrimeXBT, saying the Treasury’s move to expand buybacks at the long end helped push yields and the US dollar lower—while gold and silver outperformed equities. In his view, the market interpreted the action as a currency-related development rather than a growth catalyst.

Why Treasury buybacks and regulation talk may be feeding the same narrative

The Wednesday ETF inflow surge was linked to two parallel storylines: the US Treasury’s decision to expand buybacks of longer-dated government debt, and renewed attention on crypto regulation after President Donald Trump urged Congress to advance the CLARITY Act at a White House event.

Cointelegraph’s reporting connected the Treasury decision to the broader price action, including the way Bitcoin traded in sympathy with gold and silver. Randin’s comments emphasized that Bitcoin’s correlation shifted toward the “debasement trade”—an environment where investors often look to hard assets rather than companies or conventional growth exposure.

Investors tend to focus on the interaction between rates, the dollar, and liquidity expectations because those factors can influence whether demand flows into speculative or “hedging” allocations. When ETFs see strong net inflows while Bitcoin’s price behavior resembles traditional hedges, it can indicate a different driver than simple momentum trading.

Ether ETFs also benefit as weekly inflows climb

While Bitcoin led the day’s flows, Ether ETFs also contributed to the broader picture. Spot Ether ETFs logged $189.2 million in net inflows on Wednesday, increasing this week’s net inflows to about $291.5 million.

That matters for market structure: simultaneous strength across major spot products can reinforce the impression that inflows are responding to a macro or policy-driven catalyst rather than reflecting a rotation limited to a single asset.

At the same time, the gap between Bitcoin’s $517.2 million inflow and Ether’s $189.2 million highlights how investor positioning still appears weighted toward Bitcoin as the primary institutional gateway for spot exposure.

What to watch next: whether ETF inflows hold after the catalyst

The immediate question for readers is whether the Wednesday surge was a one-off reaction to Treasury headlines and renewed regulatory urgency—or the start of a more sustained inflow trend. With Bitcoin and Ether both sharply higher and ETF inflows reaching notable multi-month highs, investors will likely watch subsequent daily flow prints, changes in yields and the dollar, and any tangible movement around US crypto policy discussions.

Cybersecurity firm Rapid7 unveiled a new cryptocurrency phishing campaign known as Operation Asterix, targeting roughly 885,000 phone numbers from several countries to steal cryptocurrency investors’ assets.

The phishing campaign led to 5,576 accounts matched to users on crypto exchange Binance, which were queued for attack, while the recovered logs also showed fake emails impersonating Crypto.com, according to a Monday report by Rapid7.

Of the 885,000 phone numbers, the largest file included 316,002 German mobile numbers, with additional directories covering Hong Kong, Bulgaria, the UK, the US, Canadian fintech companies and additional Ledger-related lists. 

Phishing attacks and social engineering scams drove the majority of the crypto industry’s losses in the first quarter of the year, accounting for $306 million out of the total $482 million lost, according to blockchain security company Hacken.

As part of the Asterix phishing campaign detailed by Rapid7 analysts Anna Sirokova and Jan Recinsky, attackers drove victims to fake apps impersonating Ledger, Trezor, and Exodus, seeking to steal their seed phrases. Attackers reached out to victims through fake support emails and phone inquiries.

Operation Aseterix kill chain from acquisition to exfiltration. Source: Rapid7.

Cointelegraph has contacted the analysts for further comment on what they found regarding target filtering, hardware wallet spoofing and self-custody vulnerabilities. We will update this article when they reply.

Earlier in August, wallet provider Trezor reported a breach of personal data affecting about 14,000 users through its shipping provider, ShipMonk.  

In July, a crypto investor lost nearly $1 million after signing a malicious phishing token approval transaction on Ethereum. 

In November 2023, a fake Ledger Live app on the Microsoft Store resulted in the theft of $588,000 across 38 transactions. 

Related: DefiLlama delayed mobile launch over phishing apps on Apple Store, founder says

Asterix phishing campaign boasts 13% “hit rate” 

Attackers matched 43,066 accounts to cryptocurrency users with exchange accounts, validated from the larger German dataset of over 316,000 phone numbers, meaning that the campaign has a “hit rate” of approximately 13.6%, according to Rapid7. 

The report also identified a checker for Kraken, which sought to bulk-validate phone numbers against accounts from the cryptocurrency exchange. The cybersecurity company said that the recovered artifacts showed that artificial intelligence tools were used as a significant part of the phishing campaign.

Phishing attacks are a long-standing headwind for the crypto industry, as they enable attackers to exploit human behavior rather than the code of a protocol. 

On May 25, onchain analyst “b-block” warned that scammers used Google to deploy malicious phishing ads impersonating decentralized exchange Uniswap, reportedly stealing more than $400,000 from victims. 

Leading crypto industry figures, including Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, have previously called for better wallet security measures to avoid phishing scams, after an investor lost $50 million in an address poisoning scam in December 2025.  

Magazine: How a ‘Wrong Number’ message turned into a $3.4M crypto scam 

The UK government sent more than 81,000 warning letters during the 2025/2026 financial year to crypto holders it suspects of owing unpaid taxes.

A freedom of information request seen by the BBC revealed that the volume of letters from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had tripled from 27,714 in 2024.

Unpaid taxes stem from crypto bull run

HMRC believes most of the unpaid taxes stem from gains made during the crypto bull run between 2022 and 2025.

The letters remind UK crypto users that if they sell, give away, exchange or make a purchase with crypto, they may need to pay capital gains tax. 

If they don’t pay, they face a possible penalty of up to 100% of their owed tax with interest. This increases when it comes to offshore transfers. 

HMRC plans to track wealthy crypto holders with ease

Neela Chauhan, a partner at accounting firm UHY Hacker Young, told the BBC, “A lot of the traders are young, have had little previous exposure to HMRC and often work under the assumption that HMRC has limited visibility over their activities.”

Chauhan adds that tax authorities suspect many crypto investors are evading tax, and that tracking the unpaid taxes of wealthy crypto users will be like “shooting fish in a barrel” once HMRC acquires new powers next year. 

The conversations offer clues to DSA’s sudden relevance. Members talk about rent and health care, Donald Trump and immigration enforcement, Israel and Gaza, jobs that do not pay enough and homes they cannot afford. Others describe a Democratic Party they no longer believe is capable of addressing the problems shaping their lives.

There is plenty at the summit to remind visitors that this is an avowedly socialist organization. A bookseller in the hallway sells Marxist literature; The Communist Manifesto sells out by evening. Nearby, organizers decorate a “Free Stuff!” booth with fake bags of money and gold bars. But many of the grievances drawing people toward DSA no longer sound especially fringe. For Katie Sims, DSA’s 28-year-old electoral chair, the revelation came after graduating from Cornell in 2020 and looking at what a job would pay, then what rent and health insurance would cost. “I was like, none of these numbers add up,” Sims says. Polls show younger Americans are increasingly pessimistic about reaching the basic milestones available to their parents: homeownership, financial security, raising a family without amassing crushing debt. But, while Mamdani was elected mayor of New York with 51% of the vote, the people DSA has attracted are disproportionately young, white, urban, and college educated—hardly a representative sample of the working class the organization hopes to organize.