Bitcoin Reclaims $112,000 as Crypto Markets Rebound

Crypto markets are rebounding midweek after a volatile start, with total capitalization climbing 2.2% to around $3.97 trillion.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose 2% to $112,000, while Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3% to $4,640, with Standard Chartered forecasting that ETH could hit $7,500 by the end of the year.

Altcoins are also soaring. Solana (SOL) leads with an 8.7% jump to $208 after medical device maker Sharps Technology announced a $400 million treasury strategy built around Solana’s native token.

XRP (XRP) and BNB (BNB) also rallied 2.5% and 1.7%, respectively.

The market’s cautious recovery follows $231 million in leveraged crypto positions being liquidated over the past 24 hours, including $75 million in ETH and $36 million in BTC, highlighting persistent volatility, according to data from CoinGlass.

ETF Flows and Derivatives

Meanwhile, spot crypto ETF flows indicate that institutions may be stepping back in, following a week of continuous outflows, with spot Bitcoin ETFs attracting $88.2 million on August 26, thereby lifting total assets to $143.15 billion, according to data from SoSoValue.

Spot Ethereum ETFs attracted even bigger inflows of $455 million, taking total holdings close to $30 billion. That comes after last week’s big outflows, suggesting investors are readjusting after Bitcoin briefly dropped below $110,000 and wiped out hundreds of millions in long positions.

Analysts at Glassnode noted in an X post that Bitcoin has now spent 273 days with a “super-majority of supply held in profit,” the second-longest stretch on record, only behind the 2015–2018 cycle, which lasted 335 days.

Fed Concerns

The Fed is back in the spotlight but for two very different reasons. New York Fed President John Williams said a September rate cut is still possible as the decision is “data dependent,” with upcoming employment and inflation reports likely to determine whether policymakers reduce rates from the current 4.25%-4.50% target range, Reuters reports.

At the same time, markets are dealing with a larger political shock as the Trump administration moves to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who has announced that she will sue to stop her dismissal.

The fight over the Fed’s independence is now a clear risk to monetary policy credibility and could drive volatility.

Investors are also focused on Nvidia’s earnings. The company is scheduled to release its second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report today after market close. Nvidia is expected to report earnings of $1.01 per share on revenue of approximately $46.2 billion, marking a 49% year-over-year increase in earnings and a 53% rise in revenue.