Key Notes
- BTC has broken $124K as CPI holds steady at 2.7%.
- Samson Mow sees either further BTC dominance or an altcoin-led pullback.
- Altcoin market cap has gained 26%, but faces key resistance near $315B. .
Bitcoin BTC $121 252 24h volatility: 0.7% Market cap: $2.42 T Vol. 24h: $70.65 B touched a new record high of $124,457 early Aug. 14, just a day after July’s US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data came in cooler than anticipated. Inflation held at 2.7% year-over-year, unchanged from June and below expectations of 2.8%, with monthly CPI rising 0.2%.
The news added roughly $40 billion to Bitcoin’s market cap, pushing the total crypto market capitalization to $4.25 trillion. According to CoinMarketCap , BTC is currently trading around $121,881 with a 32% surge in its 24-hour trading volume.
Long-time Bitcoin advocate Samson Mow described two very different potential paths for the market. In one, Bitcoin “goes Godzilla,” absorbing market liquidity, resulting in an altcoin drop.
Mow suggested another possibility of an “altcoin mania,” which would prompt a sharp Bitcoin sell-off before the largest cryptocurrency regains its spot.
Two possible paths for #Bitcoin now.
1⃣ We Godzilla or Omega up, suck all the oxygen out of the room, and alts drop 30-40%.
2⃣ Alt mania peaks, triggering a massive selloff as the Bagholder's Dilemma loses equilibrium, BTC goes down briefly then up again, as alts tank.
— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 14, 2025
The Bitcoin advocate also revisited his “Bagholder’s Dilemma” theory, arguing that Ethereum may struggle to break past its previous high. This is because holders get tempted to sell near psychological resistance levels. However, he believes that’s a challenge Bitcoin is less likely to face.
Despite Bitcoin’s breakout, Ether ETH $4 713 24h volatility: 0.3% Market cap: $568.78 B Vol. 24h: $58.84 B has outperformed over the past month, climbing 59% versus BTC’s modest 3.8% gain. At the time of writing, ETH was trading at around $4,738, only 3.4% shy of its record high from 2021.
Altcoins running hot
In a separate X post, Mow predicted that Bitcoin could see a short-term price pullback as altcoins are running “too hot” as traders search for the next big crypto .
There will be more Bitcoin ATHs but I think we will see a pullback because alts are running too hot now. Once the altcoin mania passes, Bitcoin will take off. This is just how it’s always been.
— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 13, 2025
Notably, Bitcoin’s dominance has slipped below 60% for the first time since January. This comes as searches for “altcoin” on Google reached their highest since 2021, with “Ethereum” search interest hitting a two-year peak.
Institutional interest is also expanding in the altcoin market, as the US saw 31 altcoin ETF applications in just the first half of 2025.
The altcoin market cap has grown nearly 26% since reclaiming the $250 billion level. Historically, it often extends beyond but eventually fails at around $315 billion, according to crypto analyst Rekt Capital.
$ALTS
Altcoin Market Cap has grown by almost +26% after reclaiming $250bn
Altcoin Market Cap tends to overextend beyond but ultimately reject from $315bn (red)
But for it to sustainably breakout to new highs, it will need to not just Weekly Close above $315bn but also turn it… pic.twitter.com/HL8tQekb08
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) August 13, 2025
Analyst explains that altcoins must successfully flip the $315 billion level into solid support for a sustainable move higher.
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