Treasury Pressure Sends Bitcoin to Near $80K Amid Iran Sanctions

The US Treasury's actions have been closely tracked by the crypto market, with Bitcoin approaching $79,000 as long-end Treasury yields faced fresh pressure. The Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expanded pressure on Iran, directly targeting digital-asset financing channels.

The Treasury acted on two separate fronts: one affected bond market liquidity, while the other increased financial pressure on Iran. This policy mix has mattered for crypto traders, who face easier long-end conditions alongside tighter scrutiny of digital-asset channels linked to sanctioned networks.

CoinMarketCap data showed Bitcoin trading near $78,851 late Monday, up about 1.9% over 24 hours. The asset had traded between roughly $76,689 and $79,970 during the session, placing it near its highest levels since the latest rebound accelerated last week.

The Treasury said on Aug. 19 that long-end liquidity-support buybacks would at least double, with the maximum size rising from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation. The revised schedule will start Sept. 9 and run through Nov. 4, targeting less-liquid 10-year to 30-year nominal coupon sectors.