Exclusive: Billionaire Mark Cuban pours cold water on Bitcoin's comeback
Sat, August 22, 2026 at 1:58 AM GMT+3 3 min read
Bitcoin's sharp rebound this week has revived bullish calls across the crypto market, but billionaire investor Mark Cuban is not convinced the move changes the bigger picture.
Bitcoin climbed more than 20% from its Aug. 19 levels, briefly topping $79,000 on Aug. 21 as traders reacted to a series of policy developments out of Washington.
The move also triggered a wave of forced buying, with roughly $1.37 billion in crypto short positions liquidated over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data at press time.
Related: Standard Chartered revisits Bitcoin price target amid 20% rally
The rally gathered momentum after President Donald Trump hosted crypto executives at the White House on Aug. 19 and urged Congress to pass a "fair version" of the CLARITY Act, which would establish clearer rules for determining whether digital assets are securities or commodities.
Cuban says Bitcoin rally changes nothing
Cuban's skepticism predates the latest rally.
In a May 21 interview with Front Office Sports, Cuban said Bitcoin had "lost the plot" after failing to behave like the gold alternative he once expected.
"I always thought it was a better version of gold than gold," Cuban said. "But gold just blew up and went to $5,000, and Bitcoin dropped."
Cuban also revealed that he had sold most of his Bitcoin holdings, saying the asset had failed to respond as expected when the U.S. dollar weakened.
"It's not the hedge I expected it to be."
Asked by TheStreet Roundtable on Aug. 21 whether Bitcoin's latest rebound had changed that view, Cuban said it had not.
"Just confirmed what I thought. It took the administration causing a short squeeze to push up the price. Nothing has really changed," Cuban said in an emailed response.
A short squeeze occurs when traders betting on lower prices are forced to buy back their positions as the market rises, creating additional buying pressure that can accelerate the rally.
Cuban's reference to the administration appears to point to several developments that coincided with the move.
Trump's White House event strengthened expectations for crypto-friendly regulation, while his push for the CLARITY Act added to optimism over clearer U.S. market rules.
Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:
Separately, the U.S. Treasury said on Aug. 19 that it would at least double some long-dated Treasury buyback operations to $4 billion, a move intended to improve liquidity in parts of the government bond market. Long-term yields initially fell following the announcement, helping ease financial conditions.
While the combination helped force bearish crypto positions out of the market, Cuban's argument is that such mechanically driven buying does not resolve his concerns about Bitcoin's underlying investment case.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $76,996, up roughly 6% over 24 hours and more than 20% for the week.
Related: HYPE hits a new ATH after White House spotlight
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Aug 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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