Treasury Buybacks Fuel Bitcoin Surge Past $80,000
Bitcoin has surged past $80,000 after the US Treasury announced it would double its long-end bond buyback limit to at least $4 billion per operation. This move is being seen as a trigger for a new Bitcoin bull market by Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX.
In an essay published on August 25, Hayes argued that this technical adjustment was the key driver behind the price surge. He drew comparisons to former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's approach in December 2023, when she leaned harder on short-term Treasury bill issuance instead of long-duration bonds.
The Treasury's announcement was made on August 19, and Bitcoin jumped roughly 8.7% immediately after, climbing from around $64,000 to around $69,750-$71,000 within days. The rally accelerated through the following week, pushing Bitcoin above $80,000 by August 25.
Hayes sees a much larger lever sitting untouched: the Treasury General Account, which holds somewhere between roughly $940 billion and $1 trillion depending on the source. He calls a large drawdown from that account the 'middle road' among the options available to Bessent - more aggressive than doing nothing, but short of an unlimited bond-buying pledge.