Crypto market cap surges to $2.82 trillion as Zcash leads rally alongside stocks

The global crypto market capitalization climbed to nearly $2.82 trillion on Thursday, reaching its highest level in more than seven months as bitcoin broke above $81,000 and major altcoins posted double-digit gains.This is a major recovery from its sharp January sell-off, when the total market cap fell from around $3.4 trillion in mid-January to around $2.3 trillion in the first week of February. Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $81.460 at publication time, up 5.4%.Zcash's native (ZEC) token led the day's gains among the top 50 cryptocurrencies, jumping 16.5%. Cardano (ADA) gained 13% while Dogecoin (DOGE) and XRP each climbed roughly 10%.The rally also spilled over into crypto-related equities. Bitcoin treasury company leader Strategy (MSTR) and USDC stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) gained 15%, while crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) rose around 10%. The momentum also pushed Strategy's STRC preferred shares nearly back to their $100 intended par value after dropping as low as $69 five weeks ago."Bitcoin breaking the $80k wall, fueled by $100 million of ETF inflows and OTC activity, was enough to banish the bears ahead of U.S. economic data," Wincent Senior Director Paul Howard said. He added that a revival in memecoin trading has also helped lay the groundwork for what he expects could be a steady climb toward $100,000 by the end of the year.Fed rate decision loomsMarkets are also nearly evenly split on what the Fed will do at its Sept. 16 FOMC meeting. Traders currently price a 50.4% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike and a 49.6% chance that policymakers hold rates steady.Richard Green, head of institutional at RootstockLabs, said bitcoin’s rise alongside gold is indicative of the so-called "debasement trade" amid concerns over government debt that could potentially usher in monetary support."The closer those conditions get to crisis levels, the more investors allocate capital towards assets, particularly hard assets," Green said, while cautioning that further drawdowns are still likely.Tesseract Group Head of Asset Management Adam Haeems pointed to roughly $1.4 billion in September bitcoin puts between $68,000 and $75,000, though overall put open interest is about half that of calls, with heavy call positioning between $82,000 and $100,000. Haeems described this positioning as a "hedged long," with investors holding onto their exposure while insuring against a potential pullback.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.