After a steep decline through most of the first half (H1) of 2026 and relative stagnation since June, Bitcoin (BTC) – and much of the overall cryptocurrency market – suddenly shot up last week from roughly $64,330 to $74,440.
Notably, investors received an early warning that a strong upward move is imminent as, starting in early August, multiple institutional experts and analysts active on X began speculating that the ‘bottom’ might have arrived and that the new bull market is coming.
Ultimately, the optimistic assessments proved correct, and Bitcoin is up 23.23% on the weekly chart. Thus, those who listened to the analysts and invested $1,000 into BTC just one week ago would already have made a $232.30 profit and seen their new position rise to $1,232.30.
Has the next Bitcoin bull market already started?
Looking ahead, there is evidence that the most recent rally will not remain isolated and will turn into a protracted uptrend in the cryptocurrency market.
Specifically, the surge is reminiscent of Bitcoin’s 30% weekly gain that heralded the end of the protracted 2019 bear market, as well as of the sentiment reversal amidst the FTX collapse, in which BTC led the charge by advancing nearly 25% in just seven days.
Under the circumstances, the world’s premier cryptocurrency could extend its gains into late 2026 and 2027 and reach new highs that are widely expected to amount to at least roughly $200,000.
Still, it is noteworthy that the trajectory is unlikely to be straight, with a short-term correction likely given that BTC became exceedingly overbought with its relative strength index (RSI) crossing above 80, per a Finbold report from August 22.
Cryptocurrency market adds $400 billion amidst Bitcoin’s weekly upsurge
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is far from the only digital asset to have experienced a renaissance as the second half of the month started. As impressive as the 23% BTC weekly rally is, Ethereum (ETH) is up 31.33% within the same timeframe, and XRP soared as much as 49.05% in just a few days.
Overall, after losing roughly $700 billion since 2026 started, the overall cryptocurrency market added $420 billion in the last week, clearly showing signs of a sweeping recovery.
Featured image via Shutterstock
