Bitcoin rises 25% to $77,430 as Treasury buybacks trigger short squeeze

Bitcoin's 25% rise to $77,430 erased the "outside the financial system" narrative, Metaplanet's CEO said, as Treasury buybacks triggered a short squeeze.

Bitcoin rose 25 percent to $77,430 as U.S. Treasury buyback expansion lowered yields and triggered $746 million in short liquidations across major exchanges.

"The notion that Bitcoin exists outside the financial system is no longer valid," Metaplanet's CEO said Aug. 22, pointing to the token's breakout as evidence of its deepening integration with traditional capital markets.

The U.S. Treasury expanded its buyback operations from about $2 billion to at least $4 billion, pushing 10-year and 30-year yields to 4.64 percent and 5.18 percent, respectively, while the dollar fell 0.76 percent. That macro shift triggered a cascade: Bitcoin broke above the $65,000 resistance level, forcing 171,320 traders into liquidation totaling $2.98 billion over 24 hours, with short positions accounting for more than $2.74 billion of that total.

Bitcoin now faces immediate resistance at $77,500, with the psychological $80,000 level as the next target, while support sits at $72,500-$73,000. The rally has pushed the Stochastic oscillator into deeply overbought territory above 80, raising the risk of a near-term pullback.

Treasury Buybacks: The Macro Trigger

The move began in the U.S. bond market, not crypto. The Treasury's decision to increase buyback operations from roughly $2 billion to at least $4 billion improved liquidity in long-duration government debt, compressing yields and weakening the dollar. Lower returns on safe-haven assets made Bitcoin more attractive to institutional allocators, and the resulting inflows accelerated once price broke through key technical levels.

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted about $486.9 million across two reported sessions, including $189.3 million in the latest session, while Ethereum ETFs recorded inflows of roughly $71.5 million. Ether rose nearly 18 percent to above $2,250 during the same period, with the total crypto market capitalization jumping almost 8 percent to around $2.37 trillion.

Metaplanet, one of Asia's largest corporate Bitcoin holders, has been accumulating the token as a treasury asset. The CEO's comments reinforce a broader shift: Bitcoin's price action is increasingly correlated with macro variables such as Treasury yields and dollar strength, rather than operating in isolation from the financial system. The company's stance aligns with a growing cohort of corporate treasuries, including MicroStrategy, that have adopted Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

Bitcoin's options market reflected the sudden repricing, with implied volatility briefly moving above 40 from around 35 before easing toward 37.5, according to Delta Exchange data. Analysts cautioned that the liquidation-driven rally may face a consolidation phase, with the $69,000-$69,300 zone as the first support level if momentum fades.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.