August has historically been one of Bitcoin's (BTC) worst months. Between 2013 and 2025, Bitcoin has closed August higher only four times out of thirteen, according to data from the onchain a
August has historically been one of Bitcoin's (BTC) worst months.
Between 2013 and 2025, Bitcoin has closed August higher only four times out of thirteen, according to data from the onchain analytics platform CoinGlass.
Bitcoin Monthly returns, Source: CoinGlass The median August return is a negative 6.99%. The average return sits at 2.89% only, skewed upward almost entirely by two outlier years.
While Bitcoin gained 30% in August 2013, it gained 65% in August 2017. The latter is still the leading cryptocurrency's strongest August performance in its history.
Thanks to the recent Bitcoin rally, this month is turning out to be its best August so far since 2017.
As per Decibel, Bitcoin was trading at $79,130 at 15:15 UTC on Aug. 25, 2026. The cryptocurrency has gained approximately 26% this month.
BTC/USD, Source: DecibelThe August 2026 rally was driven by a combination of macroeconomic liquidity injections, political support, and short squeezes.
First, the U.S. Treasury last week decided to double its long-dated bond buybacks, which spurred liquidity hopes.
Subsequently, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $1.92 billion in inflows last week, their largest weekly inflow since October 2025 when Bitcoin reached its peak before crashing only days later.
The rally has led to a short squeeze which had led to a further Bitcoin surge. More than $211 million worth of Bitcoin shorts have been wiped out in the last 24 hours, as per CoinGlass.
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Bitcoin opened September 2017 above $4,800, before crashing to approximately $2,900 mid-month after China banned ICOs and restricted crypto exchanges.
But the selloff was short-lived as Bitcoin crossed $6,000 in mid-October following the Gold fork.
By late November, Bitcoin broke $10,000 for the first time and almost touched $20,000 by mid-December, hitting a new peak. The wild rally represented a gain of 325% from where it had closed at the end of August.
The August 2017 surge was not the peak. It was the beginning of the final leg.
According to a CNBC report dated Aug. 24, Bitcoin has posted its biggest 3-day rally since 2023.
As per the report, BTIG analyst Jonathan Krinsky noted in a research note yesterday that Bitcoin did something similar in January 2023, surging about 20% in three days and breaking above its downtrend before pulling back to its 200-day moving average, where it found support.
Bitcoin remains below this year's peak above $97,500 that it reached in mid-January and far below its all-time high of $126,198 that it hit on Oct. 6, 2025.
Key upcoming catalysts include the Senate vote on the CLARITY Act scheduled for Sep. 15, the FOMC meeting on Sep. 15-16, the July Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index data on Aug. 26, and August payrolls data on Sep. 4, all of which could influence the next directional move.
History does not guarantee a repeat. But of the four times Bitcoin has had a positive August since 2013—which is 2013, 2017, 2020, and 2021—all the prior instances show Bitcoin ending December well above its August closing price.
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