Bitcoin Reclaims $69,000 for First Time in Two Months as U.S. Policy Signals Lift Crypto

BlockBeats reported on Aug. 20 that cryptocurrencies rallied, with bitcoin briefly topping $69,900 for the first time in two months. Ether gained about 19% to retake the $2,200 level. The move followed two U.S. policy developments. The U.S. Treasury said it will at least double the size of its long-term Treasury buyback program, lifting the per-operation cap for 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year bonds to $4 billion from $2 billion. The change takes effect Sept. 9 and runs through the end of the current refinancing quarter. Treasury said the adjustment is intended to provide additional liquidity support to the long-end Treasury market. Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new regulatory framework for crypto asset offerings, aiming to create an exemption path for certain issuances tied to investment contracts. Under the proposal, qualifying issuers could raise up to $5 million over four years, or up to $75 million per year, subject to disclosure requirements. Major tokens posted broad gains on the policy news. Solana and XRP were up more than 5% over the past 24 hours. Traders said the Treasury's larger buyback operations, while not traditional quantitative easing, could still improve long-end bond-market liquidity and support sentiment toward risk assets. VanEck has also said bitcoin's correction may be nearing an end, with historical cycle data pointing to a possible accumulation phase. Crypto-linked equities advanced alongside the rally. Fold Holdings jumped nearly 20%, while BitGo and American Bitcoin rose about 15%. Strategy, described as a bitcoin asset reserve company, and Bitmine, described as an ethereum asset reserve company, each gained roughly 10%.