Bitcoin faces its highest Treasury hurdle since 2007 with $22.5B less crypto credit to unwind

The US 30-year Treasury yield crossed 5.3% on Aug. 17 for the first time since June 2007, the same day Galaxy published a report showing crypto-collateralized lending down more than $22 billion from its peak. Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $64,610.01 that day.

What makes the Treasury move unusual is its direction against the broader macro picture. Soft economic data this week pushed traders to cut the odds of a September Fed move to about 31%, down from 55% a week earlier, the kind of reaction that usually pulls long yields lower.

The 30-year kept climbing anyway, reaching 5.2954% and as high as 5.314% intraday, putting it on track for its first close above 5.3% in nineteen years.

A long-duration problem separate from the Fed

Reports tied the move to worries over the US fiscal trajectory alongside heavy AI-related corporate debt issuance. The 30-year real yields are sitting near an 18-year high around 3%, as both governments and AI companies ramp up borrowing at once.

Alphabet, Amazon and Meta alone have issued almost $220 billion in bonds so far this year, more than double the $108 billion the same three companies issued across all of 2025.

That borrowing wave competes directly with Bitcoin for long-duration capital, since investors can now lock in a real, inflation-adjusted return from Treasuries while Bitcoin still pays no yield natively.