Bitcoin sentiment briefly topped 89 on CryptoQuant's index tracked by analyst Darkfost, reaching its highest reading since March 2024 as Bitcoin trades near $77,324.76, down 2.9% in the past week from around $79,000. The reading briefly entered the 'extreme greed' range during Bitcoin's recent rise, marking the last comparable burst of bullish sentiment since March 2024. Alternative.me's separate Fear & Greed Index stood at 63, classified as 'greed', showing a different but still optimistic reading compared to Darkfost's measure. The sentiment has since cooled from its peak as Bitcoin attempts to hold its current price level amid the recent market volatility.
Cantor Fitzgerald doubled its price target on Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) to $63.60 from $30.60 and maintained an Outperform rating, providing fresh momentum for the crypto treasury stock. Bitmine stock is up 8% to $26.09 in Friday morning trading, significantly outperforming the broader market as Ethereum trades higher alongside the rally. The brokerage firm also raised targets on other crypto treasury names, arguing that the current crypto bear-market drawdown will likely have bottomed by October. SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ:SBET) stock is up 9% to $9.16, while Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) stock is up 4% to $134.15, with the crypto treasury names benefiting from the broader Ethereum rally. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is up only 0.86%, framing the crypto treasury bid as leveraged asset exposure rather than a market-wide risk move.
The sharp move higher triggered a wave of liquidations across the crypto market, with about $665 million in crypto positions liquidated over the past 24 hours, including roughly $400 million in short positions. Ethereum accounted for about $250 million of the liquidations, compared with roughly $170 million for Bitcoin, according to market data. This liquidation wave demonstrates the intensity of the current market movement and the significant positioning changes occurring as the rally unfolds. The liquidations occurred after CPI rose 0.3% month over month in August, above the 0.2% estimate, which may have contributed to the broader market volatility and the subsequent crypto price movements. Retail sentiment around both Ethereum and BMNR remained in the 'bearish' zone over the past day, despite the strong price performance.
Bitcoin ETFs lost $462.7 million during the September 8–11 trading week, while Ethereum funds gained $216.4 million and Solana funds drew a smaller $10.30 million inflow. According to AMBCrypto data, Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows in all four trading sessions, led by a $282.7 million loss Thursday. Bitcoin funds began Tuesday with $46.6 million in net outflows, with daily losses rising to $120.2 million Wednesday and $282.7 million Thursday before easing to $13.2 million Friday. ARK 21Shares' ARKB had the largest weekly outflow at $234.2 million, while Grayscale's GBTC followed with $129.1 million in weekly outflows. BlackRock's IBIT lost a net $52.5 million over the week, and Fidelity's FBTC finished the week down $50.7 million. However, Morgan Stanley's MSBT gained $19.7 million across the four sessions, and Bitwise's BITB ended with a $1.9 million gain after its $14.5 million Tuesday inflow. Ethereum ETFs showed mixed patterns, with $24.3 million outflow on Monday, $34.7 million inflow on Tuesday, and a strong $216.4 million inflow on Wednesday, with BlackRock ETHA contributing $148.8 million and BlackRock ETHB adding $18.3 million.
Bitcoin's price has been rallying, but it's still down in 2026, with the cryptocurrency experiencing a roughly 20% gain over the past month and returning to the $80,000 level. According to ETF Edge analysis, Bitcoin remains down close to 10% this year, but recent positive changes in the regulatory regime for crypto can insulate prices from political headwinds. Flows into bitcoin ETFs have been on the rebound, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) taking in roughly $3.5 billion in net flows from investors in the past month, and close to getting back to even in flows for the year. Michael Bucella, co-founder and managing partner of crypto investing firm Neoclassic Capital, noted that the next level to watch is $83,000 to $86,000, with Bitcoin remaining in a healthier position than many other cryptocurrency assets. However, the alt coin open interest and leverage is getting a little bit worrisome, with overall leverage and open interest about the same as before the October 2025 crash when $19 billion in crypto leverage was wiped out in a day.
Crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe said 'the correction is over' and forecast that Bitcoin is about to set new highs, even though Bitcoin did not outperform Ethereum in the current rally. According to the MNFund founder's post on X, this suggests that the broader cryptocurrency market may be entering a new phase of growth. Bitcoin ETFs continue to hold roughly $76 billion in assets versus approximately $9.7 billion for Ethereum ETFs, representing a gap of more than seven to one that will not close quickly. Despite this scale advantage, spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $365 million in net inflows during July 2026, their strongest month since launching, while spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted just $205 million, the weakest monthly total in the product's history. This reversal followed a challenging period for Bitcoin products, with May and June seeing combined outflows of roughly $7 billion from spot Bitcoin ETFs. The altcoin index standing at 40 still suggests that BTC continues to rule the throne, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index lying in the 'Greed' zone at 63, further suggesting that the investors are bullish and this might just be a temporary slowdown.
