Liquidity, regulation and signs of a possible change in market direction dominated this week’s developments, with bitcoin rebounding strongly as US Treasury policy helped push long-term yields lower.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that the US government could increase the size of its debt-buyback operations to more than $4bn each. Speaking to CNBC, Bessent said, “We’re Going to Increase the Buyback”, as the Treasury seeks to steady bond yields that have come under pressure.
The move is not technically quantitative easing, according to the editor’s assessment, but markets are interpreting it in a similar way. That response has changed the backdrop for bitcoin and other hard assets, although markets are expected to need more time to absorb the implications.
The intervention could prove to be the bullish fundamental catalyst that investors had been waiting for.
Bitcoin’s sharpest move came on 19 August, when it climbed to $69,749 as falling Treasury yields combined with a cascade of forced short liquidations. The move ended weeks of relatively quiet trading and took the cryptocurrency towards the $70,000 mark.
Bitcoin rose further the following day, reaching almost $73,000. About $1.3bn of positions were liquidated on 19 August, in what was believed to be the highest daily total in bitcoin’s history.
Those forced liquidations are often viewed as a feature of market bottoms, as heavily positioned traders are removed before a possible recovery. The scale of the move added to speculation that bitcoin’s prolonged correction could be approaching its final stages.
Trump comments lift Hyperliquid token
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token also surged towards record levels after US President Donald Trump said regulators were working on a legal route that could allow the major crypto-trading platform to enter the US market.
HYPE had already been one of the strongest-performing tokens of the crypto bull cycle, and the prospect of greater regulatory clarity provided another boost. Regulatory uncertainty had been regarded as the platform’s principal remaining headwind. If that concern is removed, the outlook for HYPE could improve significantly.
Prediction markets gain a place at CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Innovation Advisory Committee held its first meeting on Thursday, with prediction markets among the subjects under discussion.
Kalshi’s Tarek Mansour and Polymarket’s Shayne Coplan were given two of the committee’s 35 seats. DraftKings was also named among the participants on the new advisory panel.
Prediction markets are expanding rapidly, increasing the importance of effective regulation. Concerns remain over insider trading and market manipulation, making oversight a central issue as the sector grows.
VanEck sees possible end to bitcoin correction
VanEck said bitcoin’s 11-month correction could be nearing its conclusion, with eight of the 12 capitulation indicators it tracks now active.
The firm also reported that long-term holders had sold 356,000 BTC in a 30-day period. Its analysis was published one day before bitcoin’s sharp move higher, meaning further signals may now have been triggered.
VanEck also increased its allocation to BMNR by 49.3% during the second quarter alone, adding another notable development to a week in which policy, forced selling and regulatory expectations all helped reshape the cryptocurrency market outlook.
