Bitcoin hit $81,023.41 on Tuesday morning before pulling back, its highest point in months. The coin opened at $78,982.27, already 1.6% above Monday's opening price, and climbed further to $79,038.31 by 8:17 a.m. ET, according to Yahoo Finance. The breach of $80,000, even briefly, marked a sharp reversal from conditions earlier this summer.
Ethereum also moved higher, opening at $2,482.37, up 0.8% from Monday, though it edged back to $2,475.53 by midmorning.
Two factors are credited with driving the rally. The first is the U.S. Treasury's announcement that it will double the maximum size of its long-term bond buyback program to $4 billion per session. The second is positive sentiment around crypto legislation following a meeting last week at the White House between President Trump and representatives from Coinbase and Robinhood.
The one-week gain for bitcoin stands at 22.4%. Over the past month, bitcoin is up 23.2%. Ethereum's gains over the same periods are steeper: up 29.8% over the past week and 33.4% over the past month. Both currencies remain well below their all-time highs. Bitcoin peaked at $128,198.07 on October 6, 2025. Ethereum hit its record of $4,953.73 on August 24, 2025, exactly one year before Tuesday's trading session.
Looked at over a full year, both currencies are still in negative territory. Bitcoin is down 30.4% compared to a year ago. Ethereum is down 48.1% over the same period, a significant contrast to the enthusiasm surrounding this week's moves.
Ethereum operates differently from bitcoin in how it is used and held. Ethereum is the blockchain platform, while ether is the cryptocurrency that runs on it. When investors refer to buying ethereum, they are typically buying ETH, the digital asset used to run applications and store value. Some investors trade it short-term, others accumulate slowly, and still others lock up their ETH to help run the network through a process known as staking.
The rally in crypto mirrors moves in gold, with both asset classes responding to the same macroeconomic signals. The Treasury's expanded bond buyback program has drawn attention from investors looking for signals about future liquidity in the financial system, and the prospect of clearer rules for digital assets in the U.S. has added to the momentum.
Whether the legislative optimism translates into actual policy remains to be seen. No specific timeline for crypto legislation has been announced following the White House meeting.
