Bitcoin Surges Past $77k Amid Treasury's Bond Buyback Boost
Bitcoin's price surged to $77,500 after jumping by as much as 9.4% in late New York trading. The cryptocurrency is on pace for its best weekly gain in more than three years, with a 23% increase so far this week.
The rally was driven by the US Treasury Department's decision to double the size of its long-dated bond buybacks, which pulled long yields lower and lifted risk appetite broadly. This move has also triggered a short squeeze, as traders liquidate billions in short positions. According to Coinglass data, nearly $2.5 billion in leveraged bearish bets on Bitcoin were liquidated in the past three days.
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, recommended diversifying portfolios across assets and countries with strong finances, suggesting holding 10-15% in gold and 'a bit' of Bitcoin to reduce risk and boost returns. However, Adam Morgan McCarthy, lead researcher at LO:TECH, disagreed, stating that gold rallied cleanly on the Treasury's bond-buying operations, while Bitcoin's price was inflated by forced buying.
Institutional buyers returned to the market this week, with US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on track for their largest weekly inflows since January. Shares of crypto-focused companies also rallied, with Coinbase jumping 8.2%, and stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group climbing 5.2%.