Bitcoin (BTC) roared past $70,000 for the first time in over two months, climbing approximately 4.9% to exceed $72,000, its highest level since early June. This surge was primarily attributed to two factors: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's initiative to push US bond yields lower, and a high-profile meeting between President Donald Trump and crypto industry leaders. The US Treasury's announcement to at least double its buybacks of long-dated bonds, increasing the maximum size per operation from $2 billion to $4 billion, significantly pulled back the 30-year yield from its 19-year high of 5.337%, contributing to a bid in risk assets.
The price movement was largely mechanical, ending a six-week period of low volatility where Bitcoin traded between $62,000 and $66,900. This setup encouraged traders to fade attempts at the range high, creating a dense band of short liquidation levels between $65,000 and $67,000. Once this ceiling was breached, $3 billion in short positions were force-bought back into thin supply, leading to Bitcoin's price spiraling up more than 8% within an hour. This marked the largest short liquidation event since at least 2021, with Bitcoin accounting for $1.67 billion and Ethereum $1.14 billion of the total.
President Trump's comments, made hours after the initial price surge, provided a second leg to the rally. He urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act, floated the idea of sizable US Bitcoin purchases, and revealed that regulators are exploring a compliant route for the offshore derivatives platform Hyperliquid. A token associated with Hyperliquid climbed 21% in 24 hours following Trump's indication that the US is looking into options for the platform to operate in the country. This confluence of factors lifted Bitcoin above $70,000 and contributed to a "greed" reading on Coinbase's Fear and Greed index, which jumped to 59 from 41, alongside a 250% increase in Bitcoin's daily trading volume to $59 billion.
