Treasury buyback boost sends crypto broadly higher

The US Treasury just handed risk assets a gift. By doubling its buyback cap to $4B per operation starting September 9, the government effectively promised to hoover up more of its own debt, pulling long-dated yields sharply lower and loosening the financial conditions that had been squeezing everything from tech stocks to tokens. Bitcoin responded by climbing past $68K, up 5.8% in 24 hours and 8.1% over the past week. Ethereum outpaced it with a 9% daily gain, pushing above $2K. Solana traded near $82 with a 6.5% daily move, and XRP held above $1. The fear is fading: the Fear & Greed Index swung from 27 last week (solidly in “fear” territory) to 46, which registers as neutral. What the Treasury actually did Treasury buybacks are exactly what they sound like. The government repurchases its own previously issued bonds on the open market. When it doubles the cap per operation to $4B, it’s telling the market it’s willing to absorb significantly more supply of older, less liquid bonds. The immediate effect is mechanical. More demand for existing bonds means prices go up and yields go down, particularly on the longer end of the curve. Lower long-dated yields reduce the discount rate ...