As Bitcoin extends its climb, one prominent analyst argues buyers aren't late to the move, they're early.
Michaël van de Poppe, a crypto analyst, economist, and founder and chief investment officer of MN Fund, made the case in an X post on Aug. 25.
"Buying Bitcoin at $60,000-80,000 is the equivalent of buying Bitcoin at $20,000-25,000 in the previous cycle," he wrote, adding that he expects altcoins to outperform their last-cycle showing by an even wider margin.
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Bitcoin extended gains today, touching the day's high of $81,240.
The move caps a sharp rally that began last week, when it surged more than 20% in three days, its biggest three-day gain since 2023, driven partly by a short squeeze that liquidated over $4 billion in bearish positions.
The catalyst was the U.S. Treasury's decision to double its purchases of longer-dated government bonds, which briefly pushed yields lower and revived appetite for risk assets.
Institutional demand returned alongside it: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $1.92 billion in net inflows last week, their largest weekly haul since early October 2025.
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Van de Poppe laid out two scenarios. Bitcoin could hit resistance near $82,700, its last weekly high, and consolidate for months, or push past it toward $90,000 and settle into a $76,000–$90,000 range.
Either way, he sees a stretch of sideways action ahead, with room for altcoins to catch up.
"It's a lot more fun to be trading bull markets much rather than bear markets."
Bitcoin was trading at $78,186.59 at the time of writing.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on Aug 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.