Earlier this week, Bitcoin broke decisively out of a six-week trading range, surging above $71,000 and briefly moving beyond $72,000.
The rally has been accompanied by a wave of short liquidations (the biggest one to date).
Jan3 CEO Samson Mow believes that Bitcoin has been vindicated as a safe-haven asset. He claims that BTC surged higher because the market “smells blood.”
A major catalyst
The move was likely triggered by the U.S. Treasury’s surprise decision to significantly expand its purchases of long-dated government bonds.
On Wednesday, the Treasury said it would at least double the size of certain liquidity-support buyback operations. The initial reaction was precisely the kind of environment Bitcoin bulls have been waiting for. Treasury yields dropped sharply and the dollar weakened. The 30-year yield fell by roughly 7 basis points.
Higher long-term Treasury yields generally make risk assets less attractive because investors can earn more from relatively safe government debt.
The Treasury intervention therefore helped temporarily ease one of the biggest macro headwinds facing Bitcoin.
Reuters noted that the move offered only short-lived relief for bonds but nevertheless provided a positive signal for crypto markets.
Bitcoin ETFs see massive inflows
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted approximately $517.2 million in net inflows on Aug. 19, according to SoSoValue data.
BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $284.7 million, more than half the total, while Ark and 21Shares’ ARKB brought in $77.7 million and Fidelity’s FBTC added $62.4 million.
According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, Bitcoin demand had turned positive in both the spot market and perpetual futures for the first time since the October 2025 all-time high.
He cautioned that the magnitude remains modest. However, argued that if the trend persists for another month, it would be reasonable to conclude that the bear market has ended.
That is a notably more measured assessment than the exuberance surrounding Bitcoin’s move above $72,000.
Meanwhile, longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has argued that the move above $72,000 was a “fakeout, not a breakout.”
