Bitcoin Climbs Above $80,000 as U.S. Session Drives Rally Higher

Bitcoin moved above $80,000 as U.S. markets opened Friday, continuing its recovery and nearing $81,000. BTC was up about 5% over the previous 24 hours despite declines across major U.S. equity benchmarks.

The rally followed a 25-basis-point rate increase from the Bank of Japan, which lifted its policy rate to 1.25%. The yen weakened despite the move, with USD/JPY climbing to 157.65 and the Japanese currency falling more than 1%.

BTC Rebounds as Crypto Stocks Rally

Bitcoin has recovered sharply after falling toward $75,000 earlier in the week. The decline followed the failure of the CLARITY Act and the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points.

Crypto-related equities moved higher alongside bitcoin. Strategy gained 11%, Coinbase climbed 9% and Robinhood advanced 7%.

The broader stock market moved in the opposite direction, with the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all lower. Small-cap and software stocks also traded under pressure.

Global bond markets continued to see higher yields. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield moved above 5%, while benchmark yields in Germany, France and the U.K. also increased. The U.S. Dollar Index approached 100.5, while precious metals recorded smaller gains.

ProCap to Enter Russell Indexes

ProCap Financial is set to be added to the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes on Monday.

The company initially emerged during the 2025 bitcoin treasury boom before changing its strategy toward agentic finance. ProCap plans to rebrand as Silvia and switch its ticker to SVIA on Sept. 22.

The company still holds more than 5,000 BTC despite the change in its corporate strategy.

BOJ Hike Fails to Lift Yen

The Bank of Japan’s rate increase did not prevent another decline in the yen. USD/JPY reached 157.65, leaving the currency more than 1% lower.

The move has again drawn attention to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who previously intervened when the yen was under pressure near 162 per dollar. The currency has since given back around half of the gains achieved following that intervention.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points earlier this week, bringing the target range to 3.75%–4.00%. Further increases remain in focus, while the dollar index has held above 100.

Buffett to Leave Berkshire Chair

Warren Buffett will step down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway following 61 years in the role.

Buffett, 96, disclosed the transition in a shareholder letter Friday, according to CNBC. He will remain on the board and become chairman emeritus. His son, Howard Buffett, is expected to take over as chairman, while Susan Decker will serve as lead independent director.

Buffett has long been skeptical of bitcoin, adding a familiar crypto-related angle to the leadership transition.

Crypto Market Cap Climbs to $2.66 Trillion

Risk assets were already gaining before the U.S. session began. QQQ rose 0.5% in premarket trading, bitcoin added about 2% above $78,000 and gold climbed 1% to just under $4,400.

The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.96%, while AI, memory and semiconductor ETFs also posted gains.

Bullish, the parent company of CoinDesk, rose 3%, while Securitize gained 7% after the SEC approved an innovation exemption related to tokenized stocks. Coinbase and Robinhood, which each advanced roughly 5% Thursday, were another 2% higher in premarket trading.

HYPE led gains among major crypto assets, rising 11% to nearly $89. Zcash climbed 8% to around $1,472, while Solana advanced 6% above $106. BNB and Dogecoin gained roughly 4%, while XRP, Ethereum and Bitcoin rose around 2%. TRON added less than 1%.

Bitcoin had touched $75,972 during U.S. trading before recovering. The latest move marks its third consecutive daily gain, while the total crypto market capitalization increased 2% to approximately $2.66 trillion.

FxPro chief analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said all 40 of the most liquid cryptocurrencies were higher, with traders cautiously turning toward altcoins. The broader altcoin season index remained subdued, although NEAR surged 30%, UNI rose 26% and APT gained 18%.

The recovery came as risk appetite improved following the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate increase. Bitcoin is now closing in on the upper boundary of its recent range near $82,000, although weekend profit-taking could postpone a test of that level, Kuptsikevich said.