Bitcoin has recovered roughly 37% from its mid-August low and ethereum roughly 46%, with both setting their highest prints of the cycle on 21 September before easing back and consolidating just below those levels (Source: Bloomberg, 23 September 2026).
Bitcoin and ethereum: the mid-August rally in numbers. Source: Bloomberg, 23 September 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
One line in that table deserves a note, because it tends to surprise people. Despite gains of that size, both assets remain negative for the year to date. A 37% advance has not been enough to get bitcoin back to where it started January, which is a useful measure of how deep the earlier drawdown was.
Widening the lens makes the point more forcefully. Bitcoin set its all-time high above USD 125,000 in October 2025 and spent most of the following year grinding lower, with its deepest levels in June 2026 and a second, higher low in mid-August (Source: Bloomberg, 23 September 2026). Even after a 37% recovery from that August low it trades roughly a third below the peak, and ethereum sits more than 40% below its own 2025 high. This is a rally off a deep low rather than a continuation of the last bull market, which is a different proposition for anyone deciding whether they have missed the move.
Bitcoin and ethereum daily prices, January 2024 to September 2026. The August 2026 recovery begins from a level well below the 2025 peak. Source: Bloomberg. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
The chart also dates the turn. The current leg higher starts within days of the Treasury buyback announcement, which in our view is the clearest visual evidence that this move began as a macro trade rather than a crypto-specific one.
The levels investors appear to be watching:
- Bitcoin. The 21 September high near USD 86,979 is the immediate resistance. A sustained break above it would open the path toward the USD 90,000 area. On the downside, the USD 76,000 to USD 77,000 zone held during the mid-September pullback and is the first meaningful support.
- Ethereum. The USD 2,784 high is the near-term ceiling, with the round USD 3,000 level the next point of reference above it. Support sits in the USD 2,400 to USD 2,450 region.
Round numbers carry no predictive power on their own. They matter because a large number of participants place orders and stops around them, which can make price behaviour near those levels more volatile than elsewhere.
Source: Bloomberg, 23 September 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future results.