Bitcoin opens September near $78,500

Bitcoin entered September at approximately $78,578, up 1.15 percent over the previous 24 hours. Ether gained 2.09 percent to about $2,468 in KuCoin's midnight UTC snapshot.

The opening figures followed a modestly weaker US equity session. The Nasdaq fell 0.12 percent and the S&P 500 declined 0.33 percent, while the 10-year Treasury yield stood near 4.77 percent and Brent crude traded around $90.49 a barrel.

Those conditions left crypto balancing its recent recovery against a more expensive interest-rate backdrop. The positive overnight move did not remove the pressure from yields or establish a fresh break above bitcoin's recent trading range.

The month began with buyers still present. Whether that demand could persist through new economic data remained a more useful question than the first green reading on the calendar.