Bitcoin nears its all-time high after an overnight rally that also pushed ether to its highest levels since 2021.

Bitcoin rose 1 per cent to $119,782, per Coin Metrics. Ether dipped about 1.6 per cent to $4,181 after soaring on Sunday to its highest since December 2021, having broken $4,000 for the first time since then on Friday.

These gains came amid a rise in United States equity futures as investors awaited key inflation data.

After strong gains in cryptocurrencies and stocks during Q2, many investors anticipated a strategic cooldown in August—a historically weak month for trading, including in crypto.

According to the CEO of 10x Research, Markus Thielen, the crypto rally has been largely driven by buying during Asia’s trading hours, fueled by the rapid growth of U.S. debt.

He said that Bitcoin’s breakout from its early July consolidation aligned with President Donald Trump signing the Big Beautiful Bill, which raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.

“Bitcoin’s breakout isn’t random, it’s being fueled by the fastest U.S. debt expansion in history and that momentum isn’t slowing down,” he said. “Whether the economy stays strong or dips into recession, the flood of new debt is a tailwind for hard assets like bitcoin and gold.”

Meanwhile, stocks linked to ether’s price rallied as increased inflows into a new wave of treasury companies helped push the second-largest cryptocurrency above $4,000—a level that has historically been both a psychological and technical barrier for investors.