Key highlights:
- Bitcoin’s run last week was the largest in dollar terms with the asset adding $14,775 in seven days
- Galaxy Research pointed to Trump backing the CLARITY Act and Treasury-related developments for the record-setting week
- The rally has sparked optimism of a strong bull market but several pundits are urging caution
Bitcoin recorded its largest-ever weekly gain in dollar terms last week, surging from $62,818 to $77,593 between August 17 and August 23. While last week’s 23% surge ranked 41st among Bitcoin’s biggest weekly gains by percentage, no previous week produced a larger dollar increase.
Bitcoin records biggest dollar increase in a single week
According to data from Galaxy Research, last week’s BTCUSD weekly candle represented the largest weekly gain by dollar amount in Bitcoin history. Bitcoin added a whooping $14,775 during the week in a rally that saw the asset climb from lows of around $62K to top $80K, representing a 25% increase.
Source: Galaxy Research
The $14,775 gain eclipsed the previous record of $11,667, recorded in the second week of November 2024. Furthermore, Bitcoin’s price surge surpassed the $11,359 gain from September 29 to October 5, 2025 and the $11,245 increase notched between February 26 and March 3, 2024.
In terms of percentages, last week’s rally was only the 41st biggest weekly gain in Bitcoin’s history. However, the price surge was the largest in a single week since March 2023, sparking optimism for an extended rally.
Analysts at Galaxy Research attributed last week’s rally to a broader bear-market reversal, citing a range of market catalysts. The research identified a raft of Treasury-related developments, including a doubling of long-term buybacks.
Furthermore, Galaxy Research pointed to Trump backing the CLARITY Act and a short squeeze as reasons for Bitcoin’s strong performance last week. The BTC rally coincided with a broader surge across risk assets with altcoins and gold delivering impressive returns for investors.
Does BTC’s record gain signal a new bull market
Bitcoin’s price rally has triggered chatter of a bull market with several pundits theorizing that the crypto winter is over. Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich disclosed that the “bottom is in” for BTC, tipping the cryptocurrency to deliver outsized returns by the end of the year.
“The buyers arriving now aren’t going anywhere,” said Gerovich at a keynote address at Bitcoin Asia. “I believe the bottom is in. “And I’m expecting a much brighter rest of the year.”
Previously, Strive CEO Matt Cole argued that the Bitcoin bear market is over as BTC broke out against gold and the dollar. Furthermore, Bernstein tipped BTC to reach $150,000 by the end of the year riding the wave of a strong bull market.
However, CryptoQuant analysts believe that BTC is not out of the woods yet. The on-chain analytics firm says BTC has to hit $83,000 as confirmation for a bull market, warning that there are signs that the market may be “overheated” in the near term.
At press time, BTC price has settled at $79,459 with bulls scanning the horizons for a push beyond the $80K mark. Bitcoin’s current price puts it 37% below its all-time high of $126,198 that it set in October 2025.
