After being stuck in a month-long consolidation range between $100,000 and $110,000, Bitcoin broke out and set multiple all-time highs during the week.

The total crypto market capitalisation climbed 10.88% over the week to $3.77 trillion, revisiting levels last seen in January. 

Market sentiment continued to strengthen, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index rising to 71.

However, it remained below the June peak, indicating room for further upside.

With risk sentiment replenished, altcoins closed the week in profit, as the rally extended across the broader market.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $118,667 as of late Asian trading hours on Friday after rallying more than 10% over the past seven days. 

The breakout triggered one of the most severe short squeezes in recent years, wiping out over $1 billion in short positions within 24 hours, the largest daily liquidation event since 2021. 

According to CoinGlass, more than 232,000 traders were liquidated, with Bitcoin shorts accounting for over $570 million. 

The squeeze was amplified by high leverage and aggressive positioning around key resistance levels.

Many high-leverage short positions were forced to close as Bitcoin surged through technical thresholds, further fuelling upward momentum.

Rising institutional demand has also underpinned Bitcoin’s uptrend.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs, launched earlier this year, continue to see steady inflows, with total net additions crossing $51 billion.

On Thursday, the market recorded its second-largest daily inflow into US spot Bitcoin ETFs since launch, totalling $1.17 billion.

Bitcoin’s breakout past $113,800 acted as a catalyst, driving inflows and sustaining bullish sentiment into Friday.

Momentum has also been buoyed by growing optimism around the macroeconomic outlook.

Traders are pricing in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, with expectations that easing could begin as early as September.

Fed officials like Christopher Waller and Michele Bowman have recently hinted at short-term rate cuts.

Markets also anticipate accelerated cuts in 2026, should Donald Trump nominate a more dovish Fed chair to replace Jerome Powell.

Historically, Bitcoin has benefited from looser monetary policy and low interest rates, which drive risk-on sentiment across asset classes.

Meanwhile, crypto investors are closely watching political developments in Washington ahead of the “Crypto Week.”

Lawmakers are scheduled to review three major bills in the coming week, including the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins, the CLARITY Act to define regulatory roles between the SEC and CFTC, and a proposed ban on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

There’s also renewed speculation that China could ease its stance on digital assets.

If that happens, such a move could unlock significant retail demand from Chinese investors.

With Bitcoin now in price discovery, market participants are eyeing higher targets ranging from $120,000 to as high as $250,000 over the coming months. 

The breakout above $113,800 has opened the door to a potential extension of the rally, especially as technical and macroeconomic conditions continue to align.

In a July 10 media note, 10x Research head Markus Thielen estimated a 60% probability that Bitcoin could climb more than 20% in the next two months.

This would put BTC above $140,000 by September if the uptrend holds. 

Milk Road co-founder Kyle Reidhead echoed a similarly bullish outlook, projecting a $150,000 target based on ongoing ETF inflows, macro tailwinds, and expanding institutional adoption.

Some analysts are even more optimistic.

Pseudonymous trader Shibo, for instance, shared a fractal comparison of the 2020–2021 and 2024–2025 cycles, suggesting that Bitcoin’s current structure mirrors the early stages of its last major bull run.

BTC/USD historical price trends. Source: Shibo.

If the pattern plays out similarly, Shibo sees a $250,000 target as “programmed” over the next six months.

A separate report by Keyrock outlined a potential path to $160,000 by year-end, provided corporate treasuries continue holding Bitcoin and macro conditions remain stable. 

However, the firm noted that it views $135,000 as a more probable year-end baseline but does not rule out a push toward the upper bound if risk sentiment persists.

Others, however, are more cautious in the short term. CryptoOrca, who previously identified $120,000 as a key round-number resistance, now anticipates a short-term cooldown. (See below.)

$BTC $120k then retest for a support level wouldnt be bad

According to the analyst, a pullback and retest of support around $113,000 would be healthy for the structure of the rally before any further upside.

Looking at the Binance BTC/USDT 24-hour Liquidation Heatmap, the current market structure appears to support CryptoOrca’s view of a short-term cooldown.

Binance BTC/USDT 24-hour Liquidation Heatmap.

The heatmap reveals a concentration of liquidation clusters and leverage pockets between $111,000 and $113,000, indicating a strong zone of prior long interest and potential support.

If Bitcoin experiences a pullback, this area is likely to act as a critical floor for the ongoing uptrend.

The presence of dense yellow and green bands in this range suggests that many leveraged long positions were opened here. 

As a result, bulls will be incentivised to defend this level aggressively.

A retest of this zone would not only reset overheated indicators but could also serve as a springboard for the next leg higher, potentially validating it as a new support base after the $100,000–$110,000 breakout.

On the upside, the heatmap shows thinning liquidation density above the $118,000 mark, implying fewer short liquidations left to fuel a continued squeeze in the immediate term. 

This lack of short-side pressure could cap Bitcoin’s short-term upside around the psychological $120,000 level.

Still, the long-term picture remains firmly bullish.

As long as Bitcoin holds above the $111,000–$113,000 support band, momentum is expected to favour the further upside.

Traders may look for high-conviction re-entry zones within this range before positioning for the next breakout phase.

At press time, Bitcoin had some of its daily gains and was hovering around the $117,000 mark.

In the last 7 days, the altcoin market rose over 23% to reclaim the $1.52 trillion level, which it has not seen since early March.

Analysts like Arthur Hayes think altcoin season could be on the horizon.

Utility-focused cryptocurrencies such as Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), Hedera (HBAR), and Chainlink (LINK), all seen as strong ETF contenders, are expected to do well.

But meme coins could end up gaining the most, just like they did in past bull runs.

As of press time, Ethereum (ETH) was up 18% over the weekly period while XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Hyperliquid (HYPE), and SUI (SUI) clocked gains ranging between 20-30%.

MemeCore (M) was the highest gainer among the top 100 altcoins this week, soaring over 1,200% and pushing its market cap from $8 million to $1.36 billion at the time of writing.

Mog Coin (MOG) and Story (IP), while not posting such explosive gains, also performed strongly with weekly increases of 82% and 45%, respectively.

Source: CoinMarketCap

MemeCore: MemeCore’s late-week rally was supported by a series of exchange listings, including Binance Alpha, Kraken, Bitget, BingX, HTX, and HashKey.

Listings of this scale often trigger sharp moves for low-cap, newly launched tokens, a trend seen in previous bull cycles. 

MemeCore’s rally was further supported by a strategic partnership with market maker Klein Labs and a broader surge in market risk appetite following Bitcoin’s breakout to a new all-time high.

Mog Coin: MOG’s price surged over the past week after it broke out of a symmetrical triangle pattern, a chart setup in technical analysis that often signals a sharp move once the price escapes the narrowing range.

The breakout drew in more investors who jumped in expecting further gains.

The rally also benefited from the broader market recovery fuelled by Bitcoin’s new all-time highs, which reignited interest in the meme coin sector.

Story: IP rallied after Story Protocol announced a partnership with Sam Altman founded World.

The integration of World ID into Story’s protocol enables verified human authorship for on-chain intellectual property, addressing growing concerns around AI-generated content.

By allowing creators to prove ownership and embed licensing terms directly into the blockchain, the partnership adds both technical utility and reputational credibility to Story’s ecosystem.

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