Bitcoin and ether climbed sharply on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass legislation expected to expand regulatory support for the cryptocurrency sector, with the moves amplified by a separate Treasury Department announcement on bond buybacks.
Bitcoin was last trading around 5.2% higher at $71,880, while ether rose more than 9% to $2,288.91, according to market data. The gains come as Bitcoin remains well below its 2026 high of $94,820, reached in mid-January, and its all-time high of $126,198, hit on October 6 last year.
Trump also hinted at regulating Hyperliquid, the decentralized exchange that has drawn trader attention as a hub for perpetual futures activity. The Hyperliquid token rose approximately 25% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
Market sentiment received an additional lift from Trump's stated plans to purchase sizable amounts of Bitcoin, reinforcing his administration's pro-industry posture.
The U.S. Treasury's announcement of a significant increase in buybacks of 20-year and 30-year bonds sent yields lower, raising the relative appeal of higher-risk assets such as Bitcoin. Charlie Hayward, APAC regional director at RootstockCollective, attributed part of the crypto rally to that dynamic.
Max Stuedlein, head of Partnerships at Sygnum APAC, described the moment as an alignment of macro and policy catalysts. "The Treasury's decision to double its buybacks of long-dated government debt is aimed at addressing long-term yield concerns, where borrowing costs have been rising on concerns over US debt levels and partial crowding out by debt issuances of hyperscalers," he said.
Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said the Treasury's expanded back-end support is "exactly the type of thing Bitcoin loves." He added: "Investors should now be positioning for a move to $100,000 by year-end 2026."
Trading volume in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, ticker IBIT, ran at more than 4.5 times its 30-day average even before headlines about Hyperliquid emerged. Bitcoin volatility, as measured by Volmex Labs' BVIV Index, rose above 40 after touching a year-to-date low of 35.5 the prior Friday.
Thomas Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat, noted that "the moves in crypto have been so big in the last couple of days that it's triggered the second-largest ever short liquidation in history," adding that the momentum pushed ether to a three-month high. Ether rose approximately 19% in the past seven days to $2,251, according to CoinGecko.
Bitcoin had been rangebound between support around $62,000 and resistance at $66,000 for the past six weeks. David Morrison, a senior market analyst at Trade Nation, described the period as "rather frustrating for crypto traders, as the lack of volatility, even after bitcoin has effectively halved from its all-time high hit last October."
Whether the Clarity Act advances through Congress and how aggressively the Treasury continues its buyback program will likely determine whether the current rally has the structural support to sustain a push toward the six-figure levels analysts are now openly discussing.
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