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Points of Focus
- Bitcoin rebounded to $78.5K after falling to $77,162 earlier Monday.
- Short covering aided the bounce, with BTC leading $658K in hourly OKX liquidations.
- Higher oil and rising Fed hike odds still pressure the recovery.
Bitcoin traded near $78,500 at the time of writing after recovering from an intraday low of $77,162. The rebound pushed BTC back above $78,000, even as US equity futures weakened, oil prices climbed and traders raised bets on a September Federal Reserve rate hike.
Bitcoin rebounds as buyers defend the $77K area
Bitcoin fell to $77,162 before recovering toward $78,500, gaining more than $1,300 from the session low, according to CoinGlass data. With no fresh risk-on macro catalyst behind the move, the price action points to renewed buying near $77,000 alongside short covering.
An OKX liquidation snapshot at 09:00 UTC showed about $1.4 million in short positions liquidated during the hour, with Bitcoin accounting for roughly $658,000, the largest amount among tracked assets.
The figure covers one exchange, so it doesn’t establish a market-wide short squeeze. It does show that some bearish positions were forced closed as BTC moved away from the $77,000 area, adding buying pressure during the recovery.
Bitcoin futures open interest stood near $54.5 billion, while 24-hour futures turnover reached about $62.1 billion against $3.64 billion in spot volume. The large derivatives market leaves BTC sensitive to forced position closures when price reverses quickly.
Onchain data adds a second signal behind the rebound. CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost reported that Bitcoin’s realized capitalization increased by more than $4.6 billion over the past week, its strongest weekly rise since the current bear market began. The 30-day growth rate remains only 0.4%, so the increase points to improving capital activity without confirming a broader liquidity recovery.
The weekly realized cap continues to rise, signaling that capital has entered the market, supporting this BTC upside.
More than $4.6B was added to the realized cap in just one week.
This is clearly a sign of incoming liquidity over this period, following a prolonged phase of… pic.twitter.com/sg8pbhkcC5
— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) August 30, 2026
Macro pressure limits Bitcoin price recovery
The macro backdrop remains a headwind. Reuters reported that US stock futures declined Monday as renewed US-Iran clashes pushed oil prices higher and increased inflation concerns.
Markets now place the probability of a September Fed rate increase near 60%, up from 41.4% a week earlier, according to Reuters. Higher oil prices add inflation pressure, while higher interest rates raise borrowing costs and tend to reduce demand for risk assets.
The combination makes Bitcoin’s rebound more consistent with a market-level recovery from the $77,000 area than a broad shift toward risk assets. Short liquidations support that reading, though the OKX data alone can’t show how much of the overall rebound came from forced buying.
Barron’s described Bitcoin’s move as a modest recovery after its initial reaction to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s comments. BTC remained below $80,000, while the next US employment report is scheduled for Sept. 4.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
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