Bitcoin rose above the $65,000 resistance level that had held it back for nearly a month. As of 8 a.m. on July 21, bitcoin (BTC) was up 0.89 percent from the previous day at $65,172, based on Coin360. Ethereum (ETH) rose 1.66 percent to $1,897, just shy of the $1,900 level. Solana (SOL) climbed 2.01 percent to $77.53, and XRP rose 1.52 percent to $1.111. BTC dominance held at 58.42 percent.

Bitcoin also tried to break above $65,000 on July 15 but fell as far as $62,460. This is its third attempt this month, and an analysis says a pattern of steadily rising lows over the past 3 weeks is increasing the likelihood of a breakout. Crypto trader Daan Crypto said, "$65,000 has capped prices throughout July, but the longer it stays in this area, the higher the probability of a breakout."

The momentum behind the move is coming from institutional flows. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have absorbed about $1.2 billion in new money over the past 7 days, with BlackRock's IBIT accounting for about half of that. Yahoo Finance pointed to the rally as being driven not by a retail frenzy sparked by social media but by non-speculative buying by asset managers and pension funds. CryptoQuant data showed large wallets holding 1,000 to 10,000 BTC added 66,700 BTC over the past 60 days. That is the strongest accumulation pace since February and close to the 68,000 BTC accumulated in mid-June.

Still, the breakout is not fully confirmed. The $65,000 to $65,100 area is where the 50-day moving average passes, drawing automated selling and profit-taking. The $63,000 to $65,000 zone has historically held the most densely clustered trading volume, leaving substantial supply resistance. Net ETF outflows totaled $4.5 billion in June, and cumulative net outflows in 2026 also stand at $5.2 billion, leaving a cautious view that it is too early to conclude a trend reversal based only on the recent shift back to inflows.