Bitcoin blasts past $72,000 as Trump, Treasury buybacks wipe out $3.1B in shorts

Bitcoin surged above $70,000 for the first time since June as falling Treasury yields and Washington’s crypto push crushed bearish bets.Data from CryptoSlate shows that BTC extended its breakout above $72,000 on Thursday, taking its gain since Monday to roughly 15%. It has climbed to $72,207 as of press time.Blockchain analysis firm Glassnode said the daily move amounted to a 5.8-standard-deviation gain relative to Bitcoin’s 30-day volatility, its largest upside shock since October 2023.Chart showing Bitcoin's period-over-period returns from Nov. 12, 2025, to Aug. 20, 2026 (Source: Glassnode)The advance followed the US Treasury’s decision to double planned buybacks of long-dated government debt and President Donald Trump’s renewed push for crypto legislation at a White House meeting with industry executives.Treasury lit the fuse before Trump added fuelThe Bitcoin rally began in the bond market on Aug. 19 when the Treasury Department said it would raise the maximum size of liquidity-support buybacks for 10- to 30-year securities to at least $4 billion per operation from $2 billion, starting Sept. 9.The move came after the 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.34%, its highest since 2007....