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Bitcoin climbed more than 7% over the past 24 hours, pushing close to the $70,000 mark, as a US Treasury announcement of expanded government bond buybacks sent yields lower and sparked a broad rally in risk assets.

According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was trading at $69,614 as of 9:38 a.m. Thursday — up 7.63% from 24 hours earlier. Ethereum surged 18.31% to $2,266 over the same period, while XRP and Solana gained 11.49% and 11.14%, respectively.

US equities also closed higher overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.22% to 53,463.05 on Wednesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.21% to 7,707.98, and the NASDAQ Composite edged up 0.16% to close at 26,331.09.

Bitcoin's move above $69,000 marked its highest level since June, with markets crediting the Treasury announcement as the catalyst. On Wednesday, the Treasury said it would more than double the size of its liquidity-support buybacks for 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year nominal government bonds — raising the per-operation cap from up to $2 billion to at least $4 billion. The expanded buybacks take effect Sept. 9.

Long-term Treasury yields fell sharply following the announcement. According to Reuters, the 10-year yield dropped 5.1 basis points to 4.655%, while the 30-year yield fell 8.9 basis points to 5.196%. That contrasted with Tuesday, when the 30-year yield climbed as high as 5.3371% during trading — its highest level since 2007.

The dollar also weakened. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.84% to 98.80.

Optimism over crypto legislation added to the positive tone. President Donald Trump, speaking at a White House meeting with senior executives from the virtual asset and financial industries as well as regulatory officials, said Congress must "move to the next step and pass a fair version of the CLARITY Act."

Attendees included Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi, along with SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Mike Selig.

The CLARITY Act has stalled in the Senate amid disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties. The Democratic Party has insisted the bill include stronger conflict-of-interest provisions that would bar the president and other senior officials from profiting from digital asset projects.

Even as the legislative standoff continues, major regulators are moving independently to reduce market uncertainty. The SEC recently proposed a rule that would exempt certain digital asset offerings from securities registration requirements, lowering the bar for companies seeking to raise capital. The CFTC is also set to hold the first meeting of its Innovation Advisory Committee in Washington on Thursday, where it plans to discuss digital asset regulation, AI and prediction markets, among other issues.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs logged inflows for a third consecutive trading day. According to SoSo Value, net inflows over the past three sessions totaled $297.56 million, $189.3 million and $170.03 million, respectively.

Market participants said falling yields and sustained ETF inflows combined to underpin the rally. "The Treasury's expansion of long-term bond buybacks, combined with lower real interest rates and a weaker dollar, strengthened risk appetite," said Lee Hwan-wook, a researcher at Yuanta Securities Korea. "With spot ETF inflows and a shift by long-term holders toward accumulation, both Bitcoin and Ethereum staged a strong, spot-driven advance."


kyoung@heraldcorp.com