Bitcoin jumped 4.4% to touch its highest level since May 31 on Thursday after President Trump urged Congress to pass crypto legislation, triggering a wave of short-position liquidations. The rally also pushed the coin above a key technical level and drew a bullish take from macroeconomist Lyn Alden.
Bitcoin rose 4.4% to $72,772.3 by 17:33 ET, touching $72,960.3 intraday — its highest level since May 31, after President Trump called on Congress to pass crypto legislation.
The rally liquidated more than $1 billion in short positions within roughly an hour, and wiped out a record $2.7 billion in bearish positions across the broader crypto market, according to Coinglass data cited by Investing.com.
Trump Pushes Clarity Act at White House Meeting
Trump met crypto industry leaders at the White House on Wednesday and urged lawmakers to pass a "fair version" of the Clarity Act, a bill proponents say would set a broad regulatory framework for crypto in the US. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev attended, alongside CFTC Chair Mike Selig and SEC Chair Paul Atkins.
According to Owen Yang, CEO of UPay: "Over time, ownership may gradually shift from retail investors toward institutions." The Clarity Act passed the House last year but has stalled in Congress, and a vote, once hoped for in August, is now expected in September, according to Bitcoin Magazine.
Treasury Buybacks Fuel a Technical Breakout
Bitcoin also crossed above its 200-day moving average for the first time since November, according to Cointelegraph. The move came as the US Treasury Department said Wednesday it would at least double the maximum size of its long-bond buyback operations, raising the cap from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation starting Sept. 9. Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick said the move could help fuel a broader Bitcoin rally toward $100,000 by year-end.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs also pulled in $517.19 million in net inflows on Wednesday, with BlackRock's IBIT accounting for $284.7 million of the total, according to SoSoValue data cited by Investing.com.
Lyn Alden Sees Room for New Buyers
Macroeconomist Lyn Alden said in a Thursday CNBC interview that the "fast money" has been washed out of Bitcoin and there are not many downside catalysts left, according to Bitcoin Magazine. She added that Bitcoin is not necessarily out of the woods yet, but said hard, under-owned assets tend to win out over the long run.
Crypto-linked stocks advanced in tandem, with Coinbase shares closing 7.6% higher and Strategy up 7.8%.
Sources: Investing.com, Cointelegraph.com News, Bitcoin Magazine
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