Bitcoin Climbs to $80,000 for the First Time Since January
BITmarkets Team
May 04, 2026
The rally began around 1:25 am UTC, with Bitcoin rising from $78,415 and crossing $80,000 roughly 75 minutes later. It continued higher, reaching $80,515 by 4:20 am UTC, based on data from TradingView.
Correlation with global markets and altcoin gains
The upward move coincided with a 2.3% increase in the MSCI AC Asia Index, which rose to 245.2 and surpassed its previous high of 243.6 set on Feb. 22—shortly before the escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran.
A rise in this index at the start of the week often reflects improved global risk sentiment following weekend developments, though it does not necessarily indicate that US equities will follow the same trajectory. Other major cryptocurrencies also moved higher, with Ethereum, XRP, and BNB posting gains of 3.9%, 2.4%, and 3.3% respectively over the past 24 hours.
At the same time, crypto momentum has been building in Washington, where discussions between banking and crypto industry representatives have led to a compromise on stablecoin yield provisions within the proposed CLARITY Act. A Senate markup is expected later this month.
Institutional demand and outlook
Institutional interest also appears to remain strong. US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have recorded net inflows on 11 of the past 14 trading days, with Friday’s $629.8 million inflow marking the strongest daily total in two weeks.
Bitcoin’s return to $80,000 represents a nearly 30% recovery from its 2026 low of around $62,000 reached on Feb. 5. Some analysts see potential for further upside toward the $100,000 level. One such view comes from Michael van de Poppe, founder of MN Trading Capital: “There doesn't need to be a narrative that pushes the price upwards,” he said, adding that as the price increases, “the narrative will create itself.”
Meanwhile, the crypto industry is closely watching developments around a potential US Bitcoin reserve. Patrick Witt recently said at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas that a “big announcement” related to Donald Trump’s Bitcoin reserve plans could be made in the coming weeks.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-climbs-past-80k-for-the-first-time-since-january
https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/?exchange=COINBASE