Bitcoin Surges 15% to $72,000 as US Treasury Bond Buyback Expansion Triggers Record Short Squeeze

Bitcoin climbed roughly 15% from Monday to touch $71,992 on Bitstamp by August 20, its highest level since June and a decisive break above the six-week trading range between $62,000 and $66,900. The catalyst was a US Treasury Department decision to significantly expand bond buyback operations for longer-maturity securities, a move designed to suppress long-end yields that analysts compared to COVID-era quantitative easing. The liquidity signal unleashed the largest short liquidation event in Bitcoin markets since at least 2021, with CoinGlass data showing more than $3.1 billion in short positions wiped out over August 19 and 20.

Daily trading volume surged 250% to $62 billion. Short-term holders responded by sending 43,300 BTC to exchanges in their largest profit-taking event of the year, according to CryptoQuant. Progress on the US CLARITY Act, which would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, provided additional tailwind to the move.