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    <span class="category">
      Markets
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    <span class="dot">·</span>

    <span>
      Sep. 2, 2026
    </span>

    <span class="dot">·</span>

    <span>
      7 min read
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<h1>
  Bitcoin: New Bull Run or Very Expensive Trap?
</h1>


<div class="nwa-deck">
  Facts over emotions.
</div>


<div class="nwa-redmark"></div>
<div class="nwa-stat-icon">

  <div class="nwa-bitcoin-icon">
    ₿
  </div>

</div>


<div class="nwa-stat">

  <strong>
    $76,400
  </strong>

  <span>
    BTC price<br>
    Sep. 2, 2026<br>
    time of writing
  </span>

</div>


<div class="nwa-stat">

  <strong>
    +31%
  </strong>

  <span>
    Above June 30<br>
    low of $58,524
  </span>

</div>


<div class="nwa-stat">

  <strong>
    $81,000+
  </strong>

  <span>
    Aug. 28<br>
    intraday high
  </span>

</div>


<div class="nwa-stat">

  <strong>
    $58,524
  </strong>

  <span>
    June 30<br>
    closing low
  </span>

</div>
<!-- OPENING -->

<section class="nwa-opening">


  <p class="short">
    Look who’s back. Back again.
  </p>


  <p>
    If I had to dedicate that Eminem song to someone,
    it would be Bitcoin.
  </p>


  <p>
    BTC is back doing its favorite thing:
    making bulls feel like geniuses and bears wish
    they had held their shorts one week longer.
  </p>


  <p>
    Who’s swimming naked now?
    Apparently, the liquidated shorts.
  </p>


  <div class="nwa-price-note">

    <p>
      BTC was trading around <strong>$76,400</strong> on September 2,
      roughly 31% above its June 30 closing low of
      <strong>$58,524</strong>. On August 28, Bitcoin briefly pushed
      above <strong>$81,000</strong> before reversing and finishing
      back below <strong>$78,000</strong>.
    </p>

  </div>


  <p>
    Yes, we can call it
    <span class="good-friday">BTC Good Friday.</span>
  </p>


  <p>
    That same Friday also broke a nine-session streak of
    inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.
  </p>


  <p>
    So what now?
    <strong>Bull run or trap?</strong>
  </p>


  <p>
    Let’s remove emotions and expectations and replace them
    with facts and numbers.
  </p>


</section>


<!-- =================================================
     TRAP OPTION
================================================== -->

<section class="nwa-section">


  <div class="nwa-section-head">

    <h2>
      The Trap Option
    </h2>

    <div class="accent"></div>

    <p>
      Bitcoin has rallied. The question is whether the June low
      marked a durable bottom.
    </p>

  </div>


  <div class="nwa-evidence-grid">


    <article class="nwa-evidence wide">

      <div class="nwa-evidence-num">
        1
      </div>

      <h3>
        The $81K problem
      </h3>

      <p>
        Historically, Bitcoin’s 200-week moving average has often
        acted like long-term support, while the 50-week moving
        average has behaved more like resistance after major
        bear markets.
      </p>

      <p>
        Galaxy calculated the 50-week average near
        <strong>$81,796</strong>, with Bitcoin needing a weekly
        close above roughly <strong>$81,110</strong> to reclaim it.
        The week finished closer to <strong>$77,600</strong>.
      </p>

      <p class="punch">
        Bitcoin knocked on the door. Nobody answered.
      </p>

    </article>


    <article class="nwa-evidence">

      <div class="nwa-evidence-num">
        2
      </div>

      <h3>
        Part of the rally was forced buying
      </h3>

      <p>
        According to Bloomberg, citing Coinglass, more than
        <strong>$1 billion of Bitcoin shorts</strong> were liquidated
        in roughly one hour during the surge.
      </p>

      <p>
        In simpler English: some of the buying came from bears
        being forced to buy Bitcoin back.
      </p>

      <p class="punch">
        You can liquidate them only once.
      </p>

    </article>


    <article class="nwa-evidence">

      <div class="nwa-evidence-num">
        3
      </div>

      <h3>
        Treasury buybacks are not QE
      </h3>

      <p>
        The Treasury increased the maximum size of certain
        long-dated bond buybacks from <strong>$2 billion</strong>
        to at least <strong>$4 billion per operation</strong>.
      </p>

      <p>
        QE happens when the Federal Reserve creates new reserves
        and buys bonds. Treasury buybacks are closer to the
        government reorganizing its own debt.
      </p>

      <p class="punch">
        Calling every buyback “money printing” skips the plumbing.
      </p>

    </article>


    <article class="nwa-evidence">

      <div class="nwa-evidence-num">
        4
      </div>

      <h3>
        There is traffic upstairs
      </h3>

      <p>
        Bitcoin’s <strong>MVRV</strong>
        <em>(Market Value to Realized Value — comparing Bitcoin’s
        market value with roughly what investors paid)</em>
        sits around <strong>1.5</strong>.
      </p>

      <p>
        That is not euphoric. But a lot of Bitcoin changed hands
        between roughly <strong>$82,000 and $117,000</strong>.
        Investors who have been underwater may sell when price
        returns toward their entry points.
      </p>

      <p class="punch">
        Bitcoin’s road higher is not empty. There is traffic upstairs.
      </p>

    </article>


    <article class="nwa-evidence">

      <div class="nwa-evidence-num">
        5
      </div>

      <h3>
        Macro is not helping
      </h3>

      <p>
        The Fed rate remains <strong>3.50%–3.75%</strong>.
        July PCE inflation was <strong>3.7%</strong>, with core
        PCE at <strong>3.3%</strong>, while the 10-year Treasury
        yield moved toward <strong>4.8%</strong>.
      </p>

      <p>
        Bitcoin generally prefers abundant liquidity and easier
        financial conditions.
      </p>

      <p class="punch">
        Liquidity is flirting with Bitcoin. It is not proposing marriage.
      </p>

    </article>


  </div>


</section>


<!-- =================================================
     BULL OPTION
================================================== -->

<section class="nwa-section nwa-bull">


  <div class="nwa-section-head">

    <h2>
      The Bull Option
    </h2>

    <div class="accent"></div>

    <p>
      Now let’s give the bulls something to celebrate.
      Hurray.
    </p>

  </div>


  <div class="nwa-evidence-grid">


    <article class="nwa-evidence">

      <div class="nwa-evidence-num">
        1
      </div>

      <h3>
        ETF demand is real
      </h3>

      <p>
        From August 17 through August 27, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs
        attracted roughly <strong>$3.04 billion</strong> across
        nine consecutive sessions.
      </p>

      <p>
        The streak then broke, but institutional demand did not
        disappear.
      </p>

      <p class="punch">
        Institutional money is back. It simply is not moving in
        a straight line.
      </p>

    </article>


    <article class="nwa-evidence">

      <div class="nwa-evidence-num">
        2
      </div>

      <h3>
        Saylor is back
      </h3>

      <p>
        Strategy bought <strong>4,603 BTC</strong> for about
        <strong>$369.7 million</strong> between August 24 and
        August 30, at an average price of <strong>$80,318</strong>.
      </p>

      <p>
        That brought its holdings to
        <strong>845,050 BTC</strong>.
      </p>

      <p class="punch">
        So no, Michael Saylor has not become a Bitcoin atheist yet.
      </p>

    </article>


  </div>


</section>


<!-- =================================================
     HISTORY
================================================== -->

<section class="nwa-history">


  <h2>
    History Is a Witness, Not a Judge
  </h2>


  <p>
    Previous major Bitcoin bear markets produced drawdowns of
    roughly <strong>84%, 84% and 77%</strong>.
  </p>


  <p>
    This cycle’s deepest closing drawdown has been closer to
    <strong>53%</strong>.
  </p>


  <p>
    Suspiciously shallow? Maybe.
  </p>


  <p>
    Or maybe Bitcoin itself has changed. The asset is larger.
    Institutional ownership is deeper. Spot ETFs exist.
    Corporate treasury ownership matters.
  </p>


  <p>
    Assuming Bitcoin must fall 80% simply because previous cycles
    did is not analysis.
  </p>


  <div class="astrology">
    Copy-pasting history is astrology with spreadsheets.
  </div>


</section>


<!-- =================================================
     VERDICT
================================================== -->

<section class="nwa-verdict">


  <div class="nwa-verdict-label">
    Verdict
  </div>


  <h2>
    Bull run or expensive trap?
  </h2>


  <div class="nwa-cases">


    <div class="nwa-case bull">

      <strong>
        Bull case
      </strong>

      <p>
        The June low may have mattered. ETF demand has returned.
        Valuations do not look euphoric. Strategy is buying again,
        and institutional participation is stronger than in
        previous cycles.
      </p>

    </div>


    <div class="nwa-case bear">

      <strong>
        Bear case
      </strong>

      <p>
        Bitcoin failed its first major resistance test. Significant
        potential supply remains above the market. Part of the rally
        came from forced short covering, while macro conditions
        remain restrictive.
      </p>

    </div>


  </div>


  <div class="nwa-final">


    <p>
      The evidence refuses to give us a clean answer.
    </p>


    <strong>
      Bitcoin may have found its bottom.
      But it has not yet earned its bull market.
    </strong>


    <p style="margin-top:16px;">
      Bull-market confirmation is not established.
    </p>


  </div>


</section>


<!-- =================================================
     READER QUESTION
================================================== -->

<section class="nwa-question">


  <div class="eyebrow">
    Your Turn
  </div>


  <h3>
    Bull run or trap?
  </h3>


  <p>
    What evidence are you watching?
    Drop us a message. Each week, we’ll pin one of the
    most interesting answers.
  </p>


</section>


<!-- =================================================
     SOURCES
================================================== -->

<section class="nwa-sources">


  <div class="nwa-source-icon">
    ✓
  </div>


  <div>

    <h3>
      Sources & Method
    </h3>

    <p>
      Price action: market data ·
      ETF flows: Farside Investors (cumulative) and SoSoValue
      (daily) ·
      Liquidations: Bloomberg / Coinglass ·
      Technical levels: Galaxy ·
      Strategy purchases: company filings ·
      MVRV and on-chain cost basis: Glassnode ·
      Treasury buybacks: U.S. Treasury ·
      Inflation: Bureau of Economic Analysis ·
      Federal Reserve policy: Federal Reserve.
    </p>

  </div>


</section>


<div class="nwa-disclaimer">

  Nagham Writes is editorial commentary written for education
  and to help readers think more clearly. It is not investment
  advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or
  hold any asset. Cryptocurrency is highly volatile and can
  produce substantial losses.

</div>


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================================================== -->

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    <h3>
      Market Crash or Chill and Order a DoorDash?
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