US Treasury Doubles Long-Bond Buybacks to at Least $4 Billion, Sending Yields Lower and Sparking Broad Rally

The US Treasury Department announced on August 19 that it is at least doubling the maximum size of its liquidity-support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securities, raising the cap from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation starting in September. The move covers 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year Treasuries and was framed as a measure to steady the bond market, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent seen as driving the decision. One analysis noted the expansion was designed in part to ease crowding out from record AI-related bond supply, with the public and private sectors moving in step on the AI buildout.

Markets reacted sharply: the 30-year Treasury yield fell roughly eight basis points to 5.2%, the 10-year yield also declined, and the dollar slid. US stocks surged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising about 230 points. The TLT iShares 20-plus-year Treasury Bond ETF rallied alongside equities, and AI-related stocks were among the strongest performers in the premarket session.

The announcement also ignited a sharp move in crypto markets: Bitcoin surged from an intraday low near $64,124 to a high of roughly $69,749, a gain of more than 5% and its best single-day performance since February 2026, reaching an 11-week high. The move triggered an estimated $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion in short liquidations across crypto markets within roughly 60 minutes, with Ethereum also crossing back above $2,000.