Bitcoin price recovery tops $81,000 as NEAR surges and ETFs post $433M Friday inflow

2 hours ago 18

Bitcoin’s latest climb past $81,000 is doing more than lifting a single chart — it’s reshaping how traders are reading a week full of contradictory signals, from a tokenized-stock ruling in Washington to a sudden rush into a niche cross-chain swap tool. The Bitcoin price recovery that carried the token from below $76,000 to above $81,000 in a matter of days has coincided with a split verdict on Wall Street’s crypto products: bitcoin funds scraped out a positive week, while ether funds saw their winning streak snapped. Add in a 23% pop for NEAR and a looming Trump-Xi summit, and Monday’s trading session looks less like a routine bounce and more like a market trying to price in several stories at once.

Key takeaways

Bitcoin traded just above $81,000 during Asian hours on Monday, extending a recovery from a dip below $76,000 the previous week.
NEAR surged roughly 23% to trade above $4, tied to a sixfold jump in Zcash swap volume routed through NEAR Intents.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs closed the week with just $6.2 million in net inflows, rescued by a $433 million Friday surge.
Fidelity’s FBTC brought in $310.7 million of that Friday total, with BlackRock’s IBIT adding $108.4 million.
Ether ETFs recorded $140 million in weekly outflows, ending a four-week streak that had pulled in $1.94 billion.

Bitcoin Price Recovery Pushes Past $81,000

Bitcoin‘s rebound above $81,000 answers a simple question traders have been asking all week: did last week’s dip below $76,000 mark the bottom, or just a pause? For now, the data leans toward recovery. Bitcoin traded just above the $81,000 mark during Monday’s Asian session, according to crypto.news, after clawing back above $77,000 on September 17 and then breaking through $80,000 the following day.

That path matters because it shows buyers stepping back in after two brutal sessions of selling rather than a single speculative spike. Still, the token has struggled to clear resistance near $82,000, where price action stalled over the weekend.

Asian Markets and Trade Optimism Fuel Gains

Crypto wasn’t moving alone. Following optimistic remarks from U.S. officials about the progress of trade talks with China, Asian markets rallied, paving the way for an upcoming encounter between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping, while U.S. stock futures also rose, with Nasdaq 100 contracts leading gains over the S&P 500. Brent crude, meanwhile, fell around 2% to just above $101 a barrel — its fourth straight decline — easing some inflation worries and nudging Treasury futures higher.

BTSE Chief Operating Officer Jeff Mei said Bitcoin’s weekend increase followed the SEC’s move on tokenized stocks and a short squeeze.

Technically, Bitcoin’s momentum still has room to run before flashing overbought signals. The 14-period Relative Strength Index remains below the 70 threshold that typically marks overbought territory, per crypto.news. The MACD line is showing a similar positive short-term signal, suggesting the recovery has legs without yet looking stretched.

NEAR Leads Crypto Gains on Zcash Swap Surge

While Bitcoin grabbed headlines for stability, NEAR stole the show for sheer velocity. The token jumped about 23% to trade just above $4, making it one of the strongest performers among major cryptocurrencies during the same window. The catalyst wasn’t speculation alone — it traces back to a specific piece of infrastructure called NEAR Intents, a service that lets users swap assets across different blockchains without manually shuttling funds between networks.

Wallets including ZODL and Vizor have integrated NEAR Intents to offer Zcash swaps, and that integration appears to be paying off. Daily Zcash volume routed through NEAR Intents increased roughly sixfold over the past week. The NEAR Zcash swap activity didn’t just lift NEAR — Zcash itself gained about 3% to trade above $1,500. Elsewhere in the altcoin market, BNB rose around 2% to nearly $777, Ether and Hyperliquid each added about 2%, and XRP, Dogecoin, Solana and Tron logged smaller gains of roughly 1% or less.

Why this matters: a sixfold jump in routed swap volume is the kind of on-chain signal that tends to draw speculative capital fast, but it also raises the question of how much of NEAR’s move reflects durable adoption of cross-chain infrastructure versus a short-term rotation chasing the next hot narrative.

Bitcoin and Ether ETF Flows Diverge

ETF flow data from last week tells a story of two very different weeks for the two largest crypto assets. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs ended with just $6.2 million in net inflows — barely positive, but a sharp turnaround from the $462.7 million in outflows the funds logged the week before, according to The Block’s analysis of SoSoValue data. Ether ETFs moved the opposite direction, posting $140 million in weekly outflows and ending a four-week run that had brought in a combined $1.94 billion.

Fidelity and BlackRock Drive Friday’s Bitcoin Rebound

The bitcoin numbers only work out because of one exceptional day. Monday’s $160 million inflow was followed by outflows of $450.3 million on Tuesday and $296 million on Wednesday, and even a $159.5 million inflow on Thursday left the funds down $426.8 million for the week heading into Friday. Then came a $433 million single-day inflow — the largest since September 3, when the funds drew $730.9 million.

Fidelity’s FBTC accounted for $310.7 million of that Friday total, while BlackRock’s IBIT added $108.4 million, according to The Block. Over the full week, IBIT actually led with $120.7 million in net inflows versus FBTC’s $79.9 million, while the remaining bitcoin funds together lost about $194.4 million — leaving the category just barely in positive territory. Bitcoin ETFs remain down roughly $1.45 billion in net flows for the year, though cumulative inflows since launch still total around $55.16 billion, with net assets at $102.53 billion as of Friday. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described the staying power of these investors as “incredible intestinal fortitude from the Boomers given they saw a 50% drawdown,” noting that rising stock prices may have helped holders stick around.

Ether ETFs Snap Four-Week Inflow Streak

Ether’s ETF story ran in reverse. Three straight negative sessions from Tuesday through Thursday drained $404.8 million, and Friday’s $143.8 million inflow wasn’t enough to erase the damage. BlackRock’s ETHA pulled in $114.3 million on Friday but still finished the week down $56.1 million, while Fidelity’s FETH added $26.2 million on Friday yet closed $25.8 million lower for the week overall, per The Block.

This marked the first weekly outflow for ether funds since the week ending August 14. The products remain positive for the year with about $922 million in net inflows, holding $16.72 billion in net assets against $13.25 billion in cumulative inflows since launch. Trading volume actually rose across both categories — bitcoin ETF volume hit $16.17 billion, up from $8.77 billion, while ether ETF volume climbed to $6.82 billion from $5.14 billion — suggesting the divergence in flows reflects genuine repositioning rather than thin, quiet markets.

What’s Next: Fed Speeches and Trade Talks

The next stretch of catalysts is already on the calendar. Traders are watching a series of Federal Reserve speeches ahead of the central bank’s late-October meeting, alongside upcoming U.S. flash PMI data that will help shape rate expectations for the rest of the year. Both feed directly into how much room risk assets like Bitcoin have to keep climbing.

Just as significant is the planned meeting between Trump and Xi, where trade, technology and tariff questions are expected to dominate discussion. Given that Asian equities and crypto both rallied on early signs of a productive U.S.-China dialogue, any shift in tone from that meeting could ripple quickly back into digital asset prices. For now, Bitcoin enters the new week holding above $81,000, with traders parsing whether ETF demand, altcoin rotation into projects like NEAR, and macro headlines can keep the recovery intact.

FAQ

What caused Bitcoin’s price to rise above $81,000?

Bitcoin rose above $81,000 following a recovery during Asian trading, supported by improved risk sentiment, productive U.S.-China trade talks, and a short squeeze tied to the SEC’s move on tokenized stocks.

Why did NEAR see a 23% price jump recently?

NEAR surged about 23% due to increased swap activity of Zcash routed through NEAR Intents, facilitating easier cross-chain asset swaps.

How did Bitcoin ETFs perform last week in terms of inflows and outflows?

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs ended the week with $6.2 million net inflows, buoyed by a $433 million surge on Friday driven primarily by Fidelity and BlackRock.