Crypto Bull Returns: Who Bounced Back the Most?

Author: Joe Zhou, Foresight News

The cryptocurrency market, which had been quiet for almost a whole year, suddenly exploded last week.

Bitcoin violently surged from around $62,800 at the beginning of the week, reaching a peak of $79,500 during intraday trading on August 21, with a maximum weekly increase of over 26%, marking the largest single-week gain since March 2023. Voices proclaiming that "the bull has returned" are everywhere in the market.

Signals do not ring out just once, but the real test lies in whether we can accurately identify their nature. More importantly, we should ask: which assets have risen reasonably in this rebound, and which are just riding the wave? The answers hold the key to the next phase.

What Market Rules Have Been Revalidated by This Bull Return?

Every extreme market event is not a random noise but a stress test of market structure. This rebound has once again confirmed several clear rules.

Rule 1: Short-term directional reversals in the crypto market are highly dependent on the swings of U.S. policy cycles.

Looking back over the past four years, several major turning points in the cryptocurrency market—whether it was the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs, the switching of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and cut cycles, or the recent U.S. Treasury bond repurchase operations—have almost all resonated with the rhythm of U.S. fiscal and regulatory policies. Market pricing power is gradually shifting from the crypto-native on-chain leverage cycles to macro liquidity and regulatory expectations.

This time is no exception. From a news attribution perspective, the core driving forces behind the rebound can be summarized in two points:

First, the long-term bond repurchase policy triggered a reversal in macro liquidity expectations. On August 19, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that the single repurchase scale of long-term government bonds with maturities of 10 to 30 years would be increased from $2 billion to at least $4 billion to address the previous surge in long-end yields and the severe sell-off of long-term government bonds. The market quickly interpreted this as the U.S. government easing its borrowing cost pressures through loose operations → the dollar weakened → funds shifted towards alternative value storage assets like gold and Bitcoin. Due to Bitcoin's high-risk asset attributes, its increase was the most prominent among similar assets.

Second, Trump's push for crypto legislation catalyzed a rise in risk appetite. Almost simultaneously, Trump met with executives from Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, and other crypto industry leaders at the White House, publicly urging Congress to pass the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" (CLARITY Act) as soon as possible to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries of the SEC and CFTC over digital assets. This move was seen by the market as a signal of reduced regulatory uncertainty, further boosting the recovery of risk appetite for funds.

It is worth noting that on August 18, the SEC also proposed a draft of new regulations for public crypto token sales, which the market viewed as a positive signal towards clear rules for token issuance. The market referred to it as "Legitimate ICO 2.0." This means that the previous wild ICO model is gradually "evolving," and today's ICOs will operate under a new regulatory framework with limits on amounts, information disclosure requirements, and exit mechanisms.

Rule 2: Bitcoin spot ETFs have become market barometers and continue to lead the entire crypto market.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have initiated and led market trends ahead of the market, becoming one of the most significant structural features of the crypto market in the past two years, a rule that has been repeatedly validated through multiple market cycles.

Taking this round of rebound as an example—the comprehensive explosion of the crypto market began on August 19, while Bitcoin spot ETFs had already shown a "determined" continuous net buying trend several days prior, accurately timing the ignition point of this round of market.

From the data, last week (as of the week of August 21), the total net inflow into U.S. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs reached $2.6 billion, setting the highest single-week record since October 2025. Among them, Bitcoin spot ETFs had a net inflow of about $1.9 billion, with weekly trading volume surging from $6.9 billion the previous week to $22.1 billion, an increase of 219%, and total net assets rising from $76.6 billion to $96.1 billion.

Ethereum spot ETFs also performed strongly, with a net inflow of $697.2 million last week, the highest since the week of October 3, 2025; weekly trading volume increased from $1.9 billion to $6.9 billion, with an increase of 259.4%.

Both types of ETFs recorded the largest single-week net inflow since 2026. In contrast, the previous week saw a total net outflow of $39.2 million from both types of ETFs.

The simultaneous increase in both types of ETFs not only validates the significant return of institutional funds but also further establishes the market position of spot ETFs as "leading indicators" of this bull market.

Rule 3: The violent surge of Bitcoin almost inevitably drives the comprehensive rise of the entire crypto sector—from mainstream coins to altcoins, and then to hot meme coins, forming a clear chain of capital rotation.

This round of market once again verifies this iron law: Bitcoin breaks through first, followed by a gradual overflow of funds, with Ethereum, quality altcoins, and hot meme coins taking turns to rally, with increases showing a stepped amplification.

Data is the most compelling evidence—Ethereum's weekly increase was nearly 30%, ENA surged nearly 100%, and the new meme coin "Bull Come" from the BNB Chain ecosystem saw a single-day increase of 30.3% on August 21, with its market cap briefly reaching $70 million. From large-cap blue chips to small-cap elastic varieties, none were absent from this rebound feast.

Bitcoin is the ignition point, but what truly stirs market sentiment are always those altcoins and meme assets with even more astonishing multiples. The gradient distribution of increases precisely outlines the complete path of this capital return.

Crypto Bull Returns: Who Bounced Back the Most?

In this round of rebound, Bitcoin ignited first, but the real elastic explosive power concentrated on the relay of mainstream coins and altcoins.

Ethereum started last week from around $1,900, peaking at $2,546, with a weekly increase of 29.8%, significantly outperforming Bitcoin's 22.9%. The ETH/BTC exchange rate rose back to around 0.031, and its market cap returned to above $280 billion.

Behind Ethereum's stronger elasticity, in addition to the common drivers of macro liquidity and short-squeeze market conditions, there are three unique factors resonating:

First, significant inflows into the Ethereum spot ETF. Last week, the net inflow into the Ethereum spot ETF was about $697 million, the strongest week since October 2025.

Second, continued tightening of exchange supply. Data shows that the amount of Ethereum held by exchanges dropped from about 7.7 million in early June to about 6.54 million in mid-August, a decrease of about 15%. Meanwhile, over 42 million ETH have been staked, and the circulating supply available for trading continues to shrink, significantly amplifying the effect of buying pressure on price increases.

Third, favorable news from the regulatory side. On August 18, the SEC proposed a draft of new regulations for public crypto token sales, which the market viewed as a positive signal towards clear rules for token issuance, further boosting market risk appetite for the Ethereum ecosystem.

Bitcoin rose 22%, Ethereum rose nearly 30%—this is already quite astonishing. But in the world of altcoins, there are even crazier contenders.

According to statistics from multiple data platforms, last week (as of August 23), among the top 50 altcoins by market cap, the five coins with the highest increases were: ENA, PUMP, Stacks, Trump, and Zcash.

1: ENA (Ethena). Weekly Increase of 100.75%, Market Champion

ENA topped the cryptocurrency increase chart last week with a weekly increase of 100.75%. This once again confirms the market's general perception—ENA has always been one of the most elastic assets during market rebounds, consistently delivering returns far exceeding the average level whenever the market warms up.

The core catalysts for the surge are twofold: first, Coinbase announced a strategic partnership with Ethena, planning to provide products based on the USDe stablecoin for over 100 million users and invest in Ethena by purchasing ENA tokens through the public market for the first time; second, FalconX launched a $1 billion secured storage facility, deploying the underlying assets of USDe into institutional loans, significantly expanding the protocol's business boundaries.

However, it is worth noting that ENA's current price is still about 89.2% lower than its historical peak—while the increase is impressive, it still has a long way to go to truly recover lost ground.

2: PUMP (Pump.fun). Weekly Increase of 88-99%, Victory of the Meme Launchpad

PUMP's weekly increase ranged between 88% and 99%, with a market cap surpassing $2 billion.

Pump.fun, as the most active meme coin launch platform in the Solana ecosystem, directly benefited from this round of meme coin frenzy—the new tokens on the platform emerged endlessly, and the surge in trading volume directly boosted the price of the platform's token PUMP. However, PUMP is still about 39.7% lower than its historical peak.

3: STX (Stacks). Weekly Increase of 82-94%, Bitcoin Ecosystem Narrative Reignited

STX's weekly increase was about 82% to 94%, making it the most outstanding asset in the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem.

STX's rise is closely related to the reignition of the Bitcoin ecosystem narrative. As Bitcoin's price broke through $77,000, market attention towards Bitcoin ecosystem expansion solutions rose again, with Stacks, as one of the most mature BTC Layer 2 projects, benefiting directly. However, STX's current price is still about 94% lower than its historical high, making it the furthest from the peak among the top five coins.

4: TRUMP (Official Trump). Weekly Increase of 79-91%, Rebound of Political Meme

TRUMP's weekly increase ranged between 79% and 91%. As a political meme coin themed around Trump, its rebound resonates with news of Trump pushing for crypto legislation.

This meme coin themed around former U.S. President Trump had been under pressure due to criticism from U.S. lawmakers and data from Nansen revealing that nearly one million investors had accumulated losses of about $3.8 billion. However, this round of rebound is more about emotional recovery after a sharp decline rather than fundamental improvement—TRUMP's current price is still about 96.4% lower than its historical peak.

5: ZEC (Zcash). Weekly Increase of 75%, New Historical High

Zcash rose 75.15% last week, reaching a trading price of $851, and set a new historical high during the week.

ZEC is the only coin among the top five that set a new historical high and is also the only asset that fully recovered its historical decline during the rise. As an established privacy coin, Zcash's strong performance reflects a characteristic of this round of rebound—established projects are also being pursued by funds, not only new concepts can lead the way. The privacy sector often gains additional risk-hedging premiums in an environment of rising macro uncertainty.

Meme Coins: The Windfall of Emotion, Maximum Elasticity

In addition, the meme coin sector has once again proven its status as the king of elasticity in bull markets. The new meme coin "Bull Come" from the BNB Chain ecosystem saw a single-day increase of 30.3% on August 21, with its market cap briefly reaching $70 million; the Book of Meme (BOME) on Solana had a weekly increase of 95.57%, making it one of the best-performing assets among this round of meme coins.

From Ethereum's steady lead to AAVE's return to dominance, and the explosive growth of ENA and meme coins—this round of rebound clearly outlines a path of capital transmission: Bitcoin sets the stage, mainstream coins take the lead, and altcoins and meme coins perform on stage. The gradient distribution of increases is a complete depiction of the market sentiment transitioning from caution to frenzy.

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