Crypto shares climb after Treasury's doubled buybacks boost risk assets

Crypto shares climb after Treasury's doubled buybacks boost risk assets

Pritam Biswas, Arasu Kannagi Basil and Hannah Lang

Thu, August 20, 2026 at 2:08 PM GMT+3 2 min read

By Pritam Biswas, Arasu Kannagi Basil and Hannah Lang

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency-related stocks surged on Thursday, a day after the U.S. Treasury Department said it would support more long-duration bonds, boosting ‌risk assets, and as U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass legislation establishing clear rules ‌for digital assets.

The Treasury's move to double buyback sizes for long-duration debt came after a major bond selloff pushed the 30-year Treasury yield ​to its highest level since 2007. Higher yields are typically a negative for risk assets like cryptocurrencies because they increase the returns on safer investments.

While the Treasury's intervention was relatively small and offered only short-lived relief for bonds, it nevertheless provided a positive signal for crypto, analysts said.

"The rally (in crypto) was then fueled by a wave of short-covering, ‌following weeks of extremely narrow trading," Alex ⁠Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at brokerage FxPro, said in a research note.

Bitcoin was last up 3.48% at $71,505, having crossed the $70,000 mark for the first time since June. The world's ⁠largest cryptocurrency has lost about 18% so far this year and remains down about 43% from its record high in October.

Investors may also have been encouraged by Trump's show of support for crypto legislation, the industry's top policy priority.

Trump, who ​promised ​on the campaign trail to make the United States the "crypto ​capital of the world" and who has profited ‌from his own crypto ventures, on Wednesday called on lawmakers at a White House event with crypto executives to pass a "fair version of the Clarity Act," currently stalled in the Senate.

"Trump's comments (on Wednesday) are incrementally positive because they suggest the White House is putting more direct pressure on Congress to get the legislation done," said U.S. Tiger Securities analyst Bo Pei.

The Clarity Act, if enacted, would define whether cryptocurrency qualifies as a security or ‌a commodity, clarifying jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission and ​the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the sector.

Industry executives and analysts ​have said that without legislation, regulations are vulnerable ​to shifting political winds and court challenges.

However, many Democrats, and some Republicans, say they ‌would not support a bill without strong language ​banning political officials, including Trump, ​from profiting from their own crypto ventures.

Trump disclosed more than $1.4 billion in earnings from his family's crypto ventures in 2025.

Ether gained 2.46% and was last trading at $2,272, its highest level in over three months.

Crypto ​exchange Coinbase Global gained 6.05%, while ‌bitcoin bull Strategy rose 4%.

Bitcoin mining machine maker Canaan surged 10.37%, stablecoin issuer Circle gained 3.8% ​and retail trading platform Robinhood advanced 0.42%.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Tasim Zahid, Will Dunham and Maju Samuel)