‘Don’t Get Caught Short’: Treasury Yields Resume Climb Despite Bessent Warning as Bitcoin Jumps

Treasury Buyback Boost Loses Punch in a Day

Bessent Says It Could Go Bigger, Floats ‘Treasury Twist’

‘The US Government Has Asymmetric Information’

Even after Washington warned investors not to fight it,

long-term yields resumed rising and Bitcoin surged

What’s happening in bond and asset markets now

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“People should think about this: What if the US government knows something the market doesn’t?”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has taken on the task of restraining higher yields, effectively declared war on the bond market on Aug. 20. The remarks came one day after he announced plans to more than double long-dated Treasury buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation from $2 billion.

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Long-term yields, which fell 7 to 10 basis points on the surprise buyback announcement a day earlier, quickly reversed. The less liquid 30-year Treasury yield dropped from about 5.28% before the announcement to 5.18%, then rebounded to roughly 5.25%. The benchmark 10-year yield moved from 4.69% to 4.63%, then climbed further to 4.71%.

Bessent then returned to the airwaves. In an interview with CNBC, he said each buyback could exceed $4 billion and that “we have a big toolkit.” He went further, explicitly describing a strategy of issuing more short-term debt and buying long-term bonds to suppress long-end yields as a “Treasury Twist.” If he is willing to consider such steps, investors should ask whether the Treasury knows something the market does not, he said.