Bitcoin surged past $77,000 this week, its largest weekly gain since March 2023, after the U.S. Treasury said it would double its bond buybacks. The move isn't quantitative easing or yield curve control, but it signaled to markets that policymakers are worried about elevated borrowing costs. The rally also triggered nearly $1.5 billion in liquidations over 24 hours as short sellers were caught out.
Treasury's bond move signals concern over yields
The U.S. Treasury said Wednesday it would buy back $4 billion or more of its own long-duration bonds on multiple occasions through Nov. 4, double the previous $2 billion cap. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the buyback could be larger than that: "it could be more than the 4 billion per issue."
These buybacks draw on proceeds from short-term debt rather than newly created money, so they aren't quantitative easing or yield curve control — the tools central banks use to inject liquidity directly. Still, the timing, with bond yields at their highest since 2007, points toward a growing chance policymakers turn to more aggressive tools like yield curve control later.
Deutsche Bank called the move a soft form of financial repression — policies that keep borrowing costs artificially low so the real value of debt erodes over time — which tends to favor hard assets. Bitcoin jumped past $77,000, up 23% for the week, its largest weekly gain since March 2023, while gold rallied too and the dollar weakened against major currencies.
Short sellers get squeezed as liquidations mount
Bitcoin's price action accelerated further, reaching nearly $79,500 before retracing to slightly below $78,000, according to CryptoPotato. Its 24-hour gain reached slightly more than 13%.
The move up wiped out short positions in large numbers. Hourly liquidations surpassed $330 million, most of it from short traders. Total liquidations over 24 hours neared $1.5 billion. About $825 million of that came from Bitcoin positions, with Binance leading exchanges and Hyperliquid recording roughly half as much. More than 170,000 traders were liquidated. The largest single order, on Hyperliquid, carried a face value of $23.59 million.
Sources: CoinDesk, CryptoPotato
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