Bitcoin Surges Beyond $61K, XRP Outperforms Among Major Cryptos

As traders gear up for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, Bitcoin crossed the $61,000 mark during the Asian trading session. Polymarket bettors anticipate stability in the cryptocurrency’s price for the remainder of the week.

Investors are closely monitoring Powell's remarks for clues on future price trends.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed above $61,000 early Tuesday, driven by a surge in U.S.-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding the asset, which saw their second-highest inflow this month. According to data from SoSoValue, Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $61 million in net inflows, the highest since August 8, when inflows reached $192 million. BlackRock’s IBIT led the pack with $92 million in inflows, while Bitwise’s BITB saw outflows of $25 million.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Metaplanet announced an additional BTC purchase worth $3.4 million (500 million Japanese yen), increasing its total Bitcoin holdings to 360.368 BTC.

Among major tokens, XRP and BNB Chain’s BNB posted gains of over 7%, while Solana’s SOL and Cardano’s ADA rose by 4%. In contrast, Toncoin (TON) declined by 0.8% over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), an index tracking the performance of the largest and most liquid digital assets, rose by 4.25%.

Polymarket bettors are giving a 66% chance that BTC will stay above $60,000 by week’s end, signaling expectations of price stability.

Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped 5% after technology entrepreneur Elon Musk posted an AI-generated image related to the token on X, continuing a trend where DOGE often spikes following Musk’s posts. However, these price increases are typically short-lived.

PoliFi tokens remained flat, with diminished trader interest. The Trump-themed MAGA token dipped by 0.3%, with a trading volume of $2.5 million, according to CoinGecko. On Polymarket, Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump 50%-49% in a Presidential election betting contract nearing $650 million.

With few significant market catalysts as of Tuesday, traders are looking ahead to Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium, where Jerome Powell is expected to discuss monetary policy.

"This week’s market expectations hinge on the Jackson Hole symposium and discussions on monetary policy," Abra Prime stated in a market note. "The focus is on BTC ETFs and their correlation with the stock market. We anticipate horizontal price action this week before Jackson Hole, with BTC ranging between $56K and $62K, with most volume around $58K to $60K."

Powell is expected to signal a shift toward lower borrowing costs next month, which historically boosts bullish sentiment as cheaper money fuels growth in riskier sectors. However, short-term bearish sentiment persists due to the recent withdrawal of applications to list BTC ETF options by both NYSE and NASDAQ, adding headwinds to broader mainstream adoption.

"Traditional finance remains cautious with ETF ETH buying, particularly due to the lack of clarity over staking legalities," Augustine Fan, head of insights at SOFA.org, noted in a Telegram message, referencing ether’s (ETH) underperformance compared to Bitcoin in the past week.