Bitcoin price hits 11-week high as US Treasury doubles debt buyback size

Bitcoin (BTC) saw its highest levels since the start of June after Wednesday’s Wall Street open as markets reacted to a US government liquidity move.

Key points:

• Bitcoin spikes 6% on the day to hit $69,749, its highest level since June 2.
• The US Treasury plans to at least double the maximum size of debt buyback operations to $4 billion. This might fuel a broader risk-asset rally.
• A lack of stablecoin liquidity on exchanges means that BTC price upside remains limited, says Bitfinex. Stablecoin liquidity has decreased by $14 billion since May.

Bitcoin surges as US bond yields fall on buyback plan

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD passing $69,700 on Bitstamp, up 6% on the day.

BTC/USD one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US stock markets opened higher after the US Treasury Department announced that it would at least double the level of government debt buybacks, from $2 billion to a minimum of $4 billion per operation, beginning on Sept. 9. 

The US 30-year bond yield, which had hit its highest level in nearly 20 years on Tuesday, fell immediately on the news and was at 5.19% at the time of writing, down 9bps.

“This increase in buyback operation sizes reflects Treasury’s desire to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as evidenced by the significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations,” an official press release stated.