- Bitcoin rose 2.52% to US$79,143 (C$108,822) on August 24, 2026, leading a broad crypto market rally that lifted Ethereum 3.51% and Solana 1.71%.
- Whale wallets net-accumulated roughly 14,200 BTC over seven days, tightening exchange supply and providing a structural bid beneath spot prices.
- Canadian investors can hold Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) and Evolve Bitcoin ETF (EBIT) inside a TFSA or RRSP, sheltering crypto gains from Canadian capital-gains tax.
- The US$80,000 resistance level is the key breakout trigger to watch; a daily close above it could signal the next leg higher in the post-halving cycle.
Bitcoin printed US$79,143 (C$108,822 at the prevailing 1.3740 USD/CAD rate) on August 24, 2026, a 24-hour gain of 2.52% that outpaced most traditional equity benchmarks on the day. The move lifted the broader digital-asset complex, with Ethereum rising 3.51% to US$2,511.83 and Solana adding 1.71% to US$96.22. For Canadian retail investors, the rally translated directly into the net-asset-value of domestic crypto ETFs without any currency conversion friction.
What Is Driving the Move
Spot Bitcoin ETF flows out of the United States remain the dominant near-term catalyst. Institutional desks have been accumulating during every sub-US$77,000 dip since early August, a pattern consistent with structured dollar-cost-averaging by large registered-investment-adviser networks that gained Bitcoin ETF access following the January 2024 SEC approvals. On-chain data shows wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC — the threshold analysts use to define “whale” activity — net-added approximately 14,200 BTC over the trailing seven-day window, reducing liquid exchange supply and tightening the bid. Macro tailwinds are also constructive: softer-than-expected U.S. jobs revisions published last week reinforced rate-cut expectations, compressing real yields and supporting risk assets from equities to crypto.
The halving arithmetic continues to work in Bitcoin’s favour. The April 2024 halving reduced the block subsidy to 3.125 BTC, cutting annualized new supply to roughly 164,250 BTC. At current prices that represents approximately US$13 billion in annual sell pressure from miners — a figure dwarfed by ETF inflows alone in peak months. Historically, Bitcoin has posted its strongest 12-to-18-month returns in the window spanning 16 to 30 months post-halving, a window that runs through October 2025 to June 2026, suggesting the present rally is broadly consistent with prior post-halving cycles.
Canadian ETF Snapshot
Canadian investors have two primary TSX-listed vehicles to access Bitcoin without holding a self-custody wallet. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCC), launched in February 2021 and the world’s first spot Bitcoin ETF, holds physical BTC and provides CAD-hedged and unhedged unit classes — a meaningful consideration when the loonie is trading at 72.78 cents U.S. as it is today. The Evolve Bitcoin ETF (TSX: EBIT) offers a comparable structure with a slightly different management-fee profile. Both can be held inside a TFSA or RRSP, allowing Canadian investors to shelter crypto capital gains from tax — a structural advantage unavailable to most U.S. retail participants investing through taxable brokerage accounts.
| Asset | Price (USD) | Price (CAD) | 24h Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $79,143.00 | $108,822.58 | +2.52% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $2,511.83 | $3,451.25 | +3.51% |
| Solana (SOL) | $96.22 | $132.21 | +1.71% |
| XRP | $1.52 | $2.09 | +1.30% |
What Canadian Investors Should Watch
The critical technical level to monitor is US$80,000 (C$109,920) — a round-number resistance zone that has capped three prior intraday attempts since late July. A clean daily close above that level on elevated volume would be a technically significant breakout signal for momentum-oriented traders. On the downside, the US$75,500–US$76,000 band (C$103,737–C$104,424) represents a confluence of the 50-day moving average and prior consolidation support; a breach there would likely invite a retest of the US$72,000 region. Canadian investors holding BTCC or EBIT inside registered accounts should also track the USD/CAD cross: a strengthening Canadian dollar erodes unhedged BTC ETF returns even if Bitcoin itself rises, making the currency-hedged BTCC.B unit class worth considering during periods of loonie appreciation.
