A Bitcoin rally of roughly 9 percent within 24 hours has carried the price above USD 75,000. The triggers were Trump's call for a US market structure law and doubled bond buybacks by the US Treasury.
The Clarity Act is the central US market structure law for digital assets. It would clarify which crypto assets count as securities and which count as commodities. At the same time, it would divide responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC. It would also create a federal supervisory structure. Originally, the bill already passed the House of Representatives in 2025. Since then it has stalled in the Senate. In mid-August, Trump consequently hosted the heads of large crypto firms and exchange operators at the White House. Bitcoin had traded between USD 60,000 and 70,000 since the spring. This week the price broke out to around USD 76,400. In addition, the Treasury is doubling its buybacks of long-dated government bonds. Each operation now covers at least USD 4 billion.
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Trump's crypto summit puts the Clarity Act on the agenda
The White House meeting brought together the leadership of the US crypto industry. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sat at the table, alongside Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chainlink Labs CEO Sergey Nazarov joined them. Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss received invitations as well. From the established exchange world came Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman and ICE chief Jeffrey Sprecher. SEC chair Paul Atkins and CFTC chair Mike Selig also attended. The law would hand their agencies new responsibilities. The guest list thus shows how closely crypto exchanges and traditional market infrastructure are now intertwined.
Trump used the occasion to put public pressure on Congress. The president linked the law to the competition with China and demanded a quick vote from the Senate. Democrats, however, are blocking a vote.
"We need Congress to take the next step and pass the Clarity Act, a fair version of the Clarity Act. It is a very, very strong, well-structured piece of legislation that keeps us ahead of China and everyone else." - Donald Trump, US President
Markets reacted immediately nonetheless. The day before the meeting, Bitcoin traded at around USD 68,000. It later climbed to USD 72,000, and in the following trading days above USD 75,000. What stands out is that the move rests on a declaration of intent alone. Washington produced no decisions. Trading is consequently pricing in legislation that does not yet exist.
Bond buybacks ease rate concerns
The second driver came not from crypto policy but from the bond market. On the same day, the US Treasury announced it would at least double its buybacks of longer-dated government bonds. In a buyback, the state purchases its own outstanding bonds on the secondary market. As a result, the volume outstanding in the affected maturities falls. That supports prices. Going forward, the Treasury will deploy at least USD 4 billion per operation. Previously, the maximum stood at USD 2 billion. The window runs from September 9 to November 4.
Its timing came as no surprise. The yield on 30-year US Treasuries had reached its highest level in roughly two decades. Rates last stood there before the financial crisis. This market counts as a gauge for long-term inflation and debt expectations. Rising long-term rates therefore make government financing more expensive and weigh on rate-sensitive assets. After the announcement, the yield first eased by around 10 basis points. The next day, however, it climbed again.
For the crypto market, the signal behind the move matters more than the rate itself. When a finance ministry intervenes at the long end of the yield curve, financing conditions loosen. The link works indirectly. For institutional investors it stays relevant nonetheless. That is because falling yields on safe government bonds raise the relative appeal of volatile assets. The buybacks start only in September. Their effect on the yield curve is thus still to come.
Institutional money confirms the Bitcoin rally
The move does not rest on futures market speculation alone. On the day of the White House meeting, USD 517 million flowed into the US spot Bitcoin ETFs. It marked the largest daily figure since early May. BlackRock's IBIT accounted for USD 284.7 million. A day later another USD 606 million followed. In the week to August 20, the funds gathered around USD 1 billion net in total. That was the strongest weekly inflow since mid-January. Inflows into spot ETFs count as an indicator of regulated capital, because the funds must hold the coins physically. By contrast, traders can unwind leveraged futures positions within hours.
Crypto-linked stocks rose as well. Strategy gained around 13 percent on the day of the meeting. A further 9 percent followed the next day. Coinbase first rose 11 percent, then a further 6 to 8 percent. Both stocks accordingly moved more than the Bitcoin price. The Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet held around 43,000 BTC in mid-August. For the first half of 2026, it also reported a Bitcoin yield of 9.6 percent.
Part of the rise ultimately stems from forced position closures. The price gain triggered a liquidation wave of around USD 3 billion. Such cascades amplify moves in both directions. At the same time, risk appetite spread to the broader market. XRP added 17.7 percent, Cardano 13.1 percent and Dogecoin 11.5 percent. Ether moved comparatively slowly. Its price gained 5.6 percent, Solana 6.2 and BNB 6.7 percent. Overall, the move draws on two sources, institutional inflows and leveraged speculation.
Clarity Act remains blocked in the Senate
The regulatory trigger of the rally so far exists only as a draft. Originally, the Senate was to vote on the Clarity Act before the summer recess. In early August, the chamber postponed the date. A dispute over ethics rules and resistance from the banking sector caused the delay. Nevertheless, the Senate opened the first procedural stage in the same month. A procedural vote on opening the debate therefore follows on September 15. It does not yet decide on the content. Without a federal law, the classification of individual tokens remains a matter for the supervisory agencies.
The chances of success have worsened since the delay. Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket price passage this year at 16 to 24 percent. Previously, the Kalshi quote stood at 25 percent. Finally, the midterm elections in November shorten the remaining window in the Senate. So Trump's appearance shifts no majorities.
