Bitcoin Surges Over 23% in a Week, US Debt and Crypto Regulation Become Market Focus

BlockBeats News, August 24th. Bitcoin surged 23.5% last week, briefly exceeding $79,000, currently trading at around $77,600, and reclaimed the 200-day moving average for the first time since November 2025. During the same period, Ethereum rose by 31.1% to $2,456, XRP surged by 53.3% to $1.52, and the total market capitalization of the crypto market increased to $2.63 trillion. The Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs collectively attracted over $26.1 billion in inflows last week.

The US national debt surpassed $40 trillion last week. The US Treasury Department announced a plan to at least double the scale of long-term debt repurchases to $40 billion, believed to be related to the simultaneous rise of gold and crypto assets. Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, stated that if the US does not change its current debt trajectory, the country may face a debt crisis in about three years and advised investors to allocate about 15% to gold and "a little bit of Bitcoin."

On the regulatory front, US President Trump once again called on Congress to pass the "CLARITY Act," stating that a "fair version" of the bill should be passed to keep the US ahead of China in the crypto field. The bill is scheduled for a procedural vote on September 15th, requiring 60 votes for approval. Meanwhile, the SEC proposed new regulations for crypto assets, aiming to allow qualifying projects to issue tokens within certain limits, introduce a safe harbor mechanism, and potentially open up new avenues for crypto project financing in the US.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that if the "CLARITY Act" fails to pass the Senate, the CFTC will proceed with its own crypto regulatory rules, including allowing registered and unregistered entities to offer leveraged or margin crypto asset trading and exploring protective measures for developers.

Market-wise, institutions like Nansen believe that part of the recent Bitcoin rally was driven by short covering. Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, stated that the $100,000 year-end price target for Bitcoin may be "too low," and if the market continues to recover, Bitcoin is expected to retest its previous all-time high of $126,000 before the end of the year.