Bitcoin surged past $72,000 after a $3 billion liquidation wave wiped out short positions on Aug. 19 and 20. The rally followed a U.S. Treasury decision to expand bond buybacks, while President Donald Trump pressed Congress on crypto market-structure legislation and the SEC floated new fundraising exemptions for token issuers.
Bitcoin clears $72,000 in a $3 billion short squeeze
Bitcoin surged from about $64,100 to more than $72,000 as liquidations across major crypto derivatives exchanges topped $3 billion on Aug. 19 and 20. Short positions accounted for roughly $2.77 billion, or 92%, of the forced closures.
The move followed the U.S. Treasury's decision to raise the maximum size of long-dated bond buybacks from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation. Binance recorded about $518 million in liquidations, while Hyperliquid processed roughly $513 million.
Trump urges a "fair" CLARITY Act as Bitcoin's regulatory backdrop shifts
Trump called for a "fair version" of the CLARITY Act during an Aug. 19 White House event attended by executives from Coinbase, Gemini, Ripple, Chainlink Labs and other technology companies.
The bill would split oversight of the U.S. digital asset market between the SEC and CFTC. However, Senate negotiations remain divided over ethics provisions, decentralized finance and stablecoin rewards ahead of a Sept. 15 procedural vote requiring 60 votes.
SEC proposes exemption for raises up to $75 million
The SEC proposed two registration exemptions under Regulation Crypto Assets. One pathway would let eligible issuers raise up to $5 million over four years, while another would cover up to $75 million during a 12-month period.
A conditional safe harbor could also let a crypto asset exit investment-contract treatment after meeting specified conditions. Stakeholders have 60 days to comment, so the framework has not taken effect yet.
Citi prepares institutional Bitcoin custody
Citi unveiled its Custody+ platform and said it expects to begin offering institutional digital asset custody later in 2026, starting with Bitcoin. The bank has not disclosed a precise launch date or named participating clients.
Custody+ will place cryptocurrency and traditional securities within a shared framework that also supports real-time settlement, liquidity services and market information. Citi said more than 80% of its asset-servicing events are already processed in real time.
Source: crypto.news
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