Bitcoin Jumps To $68,000 On News Of Bond Market Intervention

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) is up 6% and trading at $68,400 U.S. on Aug. 19 after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to intervene in the bond market.

Bessent said that the U.S. Treasury Department will more than double its debt repurchases, sending yields on government bonds sharply lower.

The yields on both the 10-year and 30-year Treasury bonds declined on news of the government repurchases, giving a boost to risk assets such as stocks and crypto. 

The 30-year Treasury bond yield shed more than eight basis points and fell to 5.202%, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield lost more than four basis points to trade at 4.66%.

Bond prices around the world had been under pressure this week due to rising concerns about elevated oil prices and fears that inflation could worsen.

There are also concerns about debt levels in the U.S. and other major economies such as Japan and Germany, as well as rising geopolitical uncertainty, particularly in the Middle East.

However, news that the U.S. Treasury Department is intervening to help stabilize the bond market is being cheered by investors and given a big boost to Bitcoin. 

BTC had been rangebound over the past six weeks and stuck trading between $60,000 U.S. and $65,000 U.S. 

Until now, Bitcoin had seemed unable to breakthrough resistance at $65,000 U.S. 

In addition to Bitcoin, other major cryptocurrencies are also rising sharply on Aug. 19, with Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH) up 9% on the day and trading above $2,000 U.S. 

Both Solana (CRYPTO: $SOL) and XRP (CRYPTO: $XRP) are up 6% on news of the bond market intervention.