Bitcoin rides debasement trade to three-month high above US$80,000

(Aug 25): Bitcoin climbed to US$80,000 (RM323,288) for the first time since mid-May, as optimism returns to the long-beaten-down crypto market amid a confluence of bullish signals that forced the liquidation of billions in leveraged bets.

The original cryptocurrency climbed as much as 2.5% to US$80,908 Tuesday in Asia, a level last seen on May 15. The increase comes after bitcoin rallied 23% in the seven days through Sunday, the biggest weekly jump in about three years. Still, the token remains well below its peak of about US$126,000 reached in October. 

Bitcoin is back in favour as chatter about the debasement trade was renewed by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement last week that the US will step up its bond repurchases in a bid to bring long-term yields lower, sparking a new round of dollar selling. Sceptics viewed the plan as further evidence the Trump administration isn’t yet ready to do the hard work of reducing the budget deficit. Bitcoin was originally created as way to escape fiat currency debasement and inflation driven by central bank money creation.

“The macro backdrop turned more supportive after the Treasury’s expanded long-dated buyback plan helped weaken the dollar and revive the ‘debasement trade’ across bitcoin and gold,” said Lacie Zhang, a research analyst at Bitget Wallet.