Bitcoin seeks support near $77K as gold approaches highs

Bitcoin’s rally to its highest price since late May has cooled just enough for traders to catch their breath, with the cryptocurrency consolidating near $77,000 after a week that saw nearly 24% gains. Gold, meanwhile, climbed past $4,600 per ounce in its own parallel ascent, putting both assets within striking distance of three-month highs on the same trading day. A breakout worth $3.5 billion in pain Bitcoin’s move from the low-to-mid $60,000s earlier in August to the $77,000 to $79,455 range triggered more than $3.5 billion in crypto liquidations, the largest single-day wipeout since March 2026. That figure represents leveraged traders, mostly shorts, getting their positions forcibly closed as the price ripped higher than their margin could handle. The one-day gain alone came in around 8% to 9%. For context, Bitcoin had spent much of early August range-bound between $63,000 and $64,500, a period of low volatility that tends to precede sharp moves in either direction. The catalysts behind the breakout were institutional demand picking up, short covering accelerating as prices pushed through key technical levels, and emerging regulatory clarity. Gold’s parallel climb runs on differ...