Bitcoin has pulled back from its weekly high of $81,455, but its August gains remain substantial. As of Aug. 29, 2026, at 8:30 a.m., bitcoin was trading at approximately $77,588 to $77,984 per coin. The leading cryptocurrency had declined about 2% to 2.5% over the previous 24 hours, while still gaining 23.2% against the U.S. dollar since Aug. 15.
Bitcoin’s initial rally followed the Treasury’s mid-August announcement about expanding bond buybacks. During the same week, U.S. President Donald Trump met with several cryptocurrency industry executives and made positive comments about the sector. He discussed bringing Hyperliquid to the United States and remained open to acquiring substantial amounts of $BTC after receiving advice from members of his administration.
Those developments helped drive demand for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which recorded nine consecutive days of inflows. The streak ended Friday, when spot bitcoin ETFs posted their first day of outflows, with approximately $202 million leaving the funds.
Sticky Inflation Meets Positive Crypto News
Several developments put pressure on bitcoin toward the end of the week. U.S. inflation remained persistent, with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rising in July. Bitcoin initially absorbed the news and recovered from a modest decline before reaching its weekly high of $81,455.
Additional positive developments supported the market, including a proposed draft to rewrite U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) custody rules and Charles Schwab’s expansion of its digital asset offerings.
Hawkish Jackson Hole Speech Pressures Bitcoin
Market sentiment shifted during the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, where Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivered his first speech at the annual event. Speaking at 10 a.m. EDT on Friday, Warsh addressed the symposium’s theme, “Financial Innovation: Implications for Payments and Policy.”
The keynote was viewed as hawkish. Warsh said the U.S. central bank has “work to do” and argued that specific financial conditions remain difficult. He also said forward guidance had “overstayed its welcome.”
Following the speech, the probability of a rate hike rose immediately from 35% to the mid-50% range. Treasury yields increased, while precious metals such as gold posted modest declines.
Before Warsh’s keynote, bitcoin was trading sideways near $79,500. After the speech, its price briefly fell below $77,000 before buyers absorbed the intraday selling pressure. The move also coincided with the first day spot bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows after their extended inflow streak.
Despite the break in consecutive inflow days, August remains a strong month for spot bitcoin ETF demand, with approximately $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion entering the funds.
Bitcoin Tests $77,000 Support as Technical Indicators Signal Overheating
Bitcoin’s immediate resistance this weekend is positioned between $79,500 and $80,300, a range the cryptocurrency lost following the Federal Reserve chair’s speech. Resistance becomes stronger at higher price levels.
Support is currently holding near the $76,800 to $77,000 zone. Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume was approximately $28.731 billion. Technical indicators suggest momentum had already become stretched before the keynote. The daily relative strength index (RSI) was at 70, while the Stochastic indicator was higher at 85, indicating overbought conditions.
Although the RSI is neutral and the Stochastic indicator points to overheating, the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) remains positive. Taken together, the oscillators and moving averages suggest bullish momentum is still intact despite bitcoin’s latest decline—at least for now.
