Bitcoin leaps above $71k on Trump comments, falling yields
Investing.com-- Bitcoin rose sharply on Thursday, headlining a recovery rally in cryptocurrencies after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass a key regulatory act.
Cryptos were also swept up by improving risk appetite after the U.S. Treasury said it will double the size of its debt buyback operations, sparking a sharp drop in yields.
Bitcoin rose 11% to $71,505.7 by 04:42 ET (08:42 GMT). The world’s largest crypto rose as high as $71,700 during the session, the highest since early June.
The rally resulted in more than $1 billion in short positions being liquidated within roughly an hour, according to data from Coinglass. Across the broader crypto market, a record $2.7 billion in bearish positions were wiped out as tokens surged.
Caution over the U.S.-Iran conflict remained in play, with oil prices continuing to push higher after Trump vowed more strict economic measures against Tehran.
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Trump calls for Clarity passage in meeting with crypto leaders
Trump on Wednesday called on Congress to pass a key regulatory bill– the Clarity act– during a meeting with industry leaders at the White House.
Trump urged lawmakers to pass a “fair version” of the Clarity act– a bill that crypto proponents say will establish a broad regulatory framework for crypto in the United States.
Several top crypto executives, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev attended the meeting, as did top officials including U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Mike Selig and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins.
The Clarity act has largely stalled in Congress amid continued disagreements over the nature of crypto, as well as disagreements over yield payments on stablecoin deposits. The latter has been a contentious topic for the banking industry, which has argued that stablecoin yield payments could threaten interest-bearing savings accounts.
Wednesday’s meeting also came amid growing scrutiny of how Trump and his family’s ventures have profited off pro-crypto regulation under his second term.
Filings in July showed Trump received more than $1.4 billion from his family’s crypto ventures.
The CFTC is now set to meet with crypto executives later on Thursday to discuss more regulation.
Crypto stocks soar in tandem with Bitcoin
Crypto-linked stocks jumped in tandem with Bitcoin in premarket trading Thursday. Shares of Coinbase Global, the largest U.S. digital-assets exchange, rose about 7%, while Strategy, the Bitcoin treasury firm founded by Michael Saylor, jumped nearly 10%.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group gained 6%, and American Bitcoin, the mining and treasury firm co-founded by Eric Trump, surged more than 11%. Robinhood, MARA Holdings, and Riot Platforms each rose around 4%.
Crypto price today: altcoins outperform in rebound rally
Broader crypto prices raced past Bitcoin, as months of underperformance sparked a wave of bargain buying this week.
World no.2 crypto Ether jumped 18.3% to $2,274.60, earlier hitting a 15-month high.
XRP and Solana jumped 14.2 and 13.4%, respectively, while BNB added 6.3%. Cardano added 8.5%.
Memecoin $TRUMP surged 19.4%, while Dogecoin added 9.8%.
Vahid Karaahmetovic contributed to this report.
