Bitcoin Storms Past $81K on Treasury Bond Purchase Rumors

Bitcoin's price surged past $81,000 on August 24, fueled by optimism over a potential broader bull market. The digital currency had nearly reached $80,000 earlier that day, following reports of the U.S. Treasury planning to use its General Account to fund bond purchases worth $950 billion.

According to data from Bitstamp, Bitcoin peaked at $81,255 at 10:45 p.m. EST before retreating and consolidating above $80,500. This price jump lifted Bitcoin's market capitalization to nearly $1.62 trillion, narrowing its year-to-date losses to 8%.

The price action was particularly brutal for traders who had shorted the cryptocurrency, with Coinglass data showing that short bets were wiped out by $177 million in four hours, compared to just $4.5 million in long bets. This resulted in a total of $282 million in short liquidations over 24 hours, accounting for approximately 62% of all liquidated short positions across the cryptocurrency market.