Bitcoin and ethereum prices today, Tuesday, August 26, 2026: Highest opening for bitcoin in over three months

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) opened at $78,982.27 on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, 1.6% higher than Monday's opening price. As of 8:17 a.m. ET this morning, the price of bitcoin rose further to $79,038.31.

Ethereum (ETH-USD) opened at $2,482.37 on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, up 0.8% from Monday's opening price. The price of ethereum edged lower this morning to $2,475.53 as of 8:17 a.m. ET.

Bitcoin shot over $80,000 this morning, hitting a high of $81,023.41 before pulling back. Like gold, crypto has been on its own run in the last week or so.

The two main drivers are as follows:

1. The U.S. Treasury's announcement that it will double the maximum size of its long-term bond buyback program to $4 billion per session.

2. Positive sentiment that crypto legislation will eventually pass following last week's White House meeting between President Trump and representatives from Coinbase and Robinhood.

Read more: Bitcoin has just wiped out three months of losses in 1 week

Current price of bitcoin and ethereum

Bitcoin

The price of bitcoin this morning was 1.6% higher than Monday's opening price. Here's a look at how the opening bitcoin price has changed versus last week, month, and year:

• One week ago: +22.4%

• One month ago: +23.2%

• One year ago: -30.4%

The all-time high for bitcoin was $128,198.07 on Oct. 6, 2025. The all-time low value for bitcoin was $0.04865 on July 14, 2010. 

Ethereum

The price of ethereum this morning was 0.8% higher than Monday's open. Here's a look at how the opening ethereum price has changed versus last week, month, and year:

• One week ago: +29.8%

• One month ago: +33.4%

• One year ago: -48.1%

The all-time high for ethereum was $4,953.73 on Aug. 24, 2025. The all-time low value for ethereum was $0.4209 on Oct. 21, 2015. 

Bitcoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies are rapidly evolving. Follow the latest developments from Yahoo Finance and others here.

What is Ethereum and how does it work? 

Ethereum is the blockchain, while ether is the cryptocurrency that runs on it. When people say they're "buying ethereum," they're usually buying ETH — the digital asset used to run applications and store value.

Some investors trade short-term, others accumulate their holdings slowly, and still others focus on earning a yield by locking up their ETH to help run the network — a process known as staking. Go deeper with AlphaSpace

More on crypto from the Yahoo Finance team: