Bitcoin climbed sharply during U.S. trading hours on August 19, briefly reaching as high as $69,749 before settling near $68,500 to $68,800. The move marked a roughly 5% to 6% gain over 24 hours and extended the weekly advance to about 9.3% from levels around $62,800 earlier in the period. The rally ended weeks of relatively range-bound trading that had kept the leading cryptocurrency mostly between $61,500 and $65,000.

The sudden price advance caught leveraged short sellers off guard, producing a wave of liquidations that further accelerated the upward move. Data from market trackers showed between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion in short positions closed across the crypto market in a matter of hours, with the bulk concentrated in the most intense 60-minute window.

Treasury Buybacks Spark Risk-On Shift

A key catalyst arrived when the U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double the maximum size of its liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated securities, raising the cap from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation. The larger buybacks are scheduled to begin September 9. Investors interpreted the step as a measure that could ease pressure in the Treasury market and support broader liquidity.

Long-term yields had climbed to multi-year highs, with the 30-year Treasury yield touching approximately 5.33% to 5.34% before retreating toward the low 5.2% area after the announcement. Lower yields typically improve the relative appeal of risk assets. Gold also advanced in tandem, rising 2.7% to $4,528 an ounce, its highest level since early June.

Additional support came from positive flows into U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which recorded a $297.6 million net inflow the previous day. Market participants also looked ahead to a White House meeting later Wednesday involving President Donald Trump, senior crypto executives, the chairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and representatives from major exchanges and clearing organizations.

Massive Short Squeeze Unfolds

As bitcoin pushed through $66,000 and continued higher, leveraged traders positioned for further declines faced automatic position closures. Liquidation figures varied slightly across data providers but consistently pointed to a heavy concentration of short covering. One set of readings showed $1.14 billion in short liquidations in a single hour, with bitcoin alone accounting for roughly $678 million of that total. Another reported about $1.4 billion in short positions closed over four hours, while a third tracked $1.21 billion in total liquidations in the last hour, of which $1.13 billion were shorts.

Over the preceding 24 hours, short liquidations reached approximately $1.3 billion across more than 112,000 traders. The forced buying required to close those positions added further upward pressure, creating a self-reinforcing squeeze. High leverage ratios, often 20-to-1 or higher, meant even moderate price moves could trigger successive rounds of liquidations.

Altcoins and Related Assets Advance

Ethereum outperformed bitcoin on the day, rising more than 8% to levels above $2,080 and briefly exceeding $2,097. The move took ether above the $2,000 mark for the first time since early June and represented its highest price since late May. Solana advanced about 6% to 7%, reclaiming the $80 level and trading near $82. Open interest in ether derivatives rose from roughly $11.7 billion to $13 billion before easing slightly, indicating increased leveraged activity.

Crypto-related equities also participated. Shares of Bullish climbed nearly 13%, while Coinbase rose about 11%. The broader advance occurred against a backdrop of improved risk sentiment following the Treasury announcement.

Next Levels in Focus

Bitcoin’s rapid advance carried it through price zones not seen since earlier in the summer. Traders now monitor whether the move can be sustained above the $69,000 to $70,000 area once the immediate forced buying from liquidations subsides. A daily close above roughly $70,284 would place the price into a zone of prior resistance, while a retreat below $68,000 could return it to the multi-week trading range.

At the time of the latest available data, bitcoin was changing hands near $68,500 to $68,700. The speed of the climb, combined with the scale of short covering and the shift in Treasury policy, produced one of the more forceful single-day advances in recent months for the cryptocurrency market.