The crypto market is having a big day. On August 20, Bitcoin (BTC) touched $72,000 for the first time since June 1. Ethereum (ETH) is trading close to $2,300.
Data from CoinGecko shows the total crypto market cap grew by 8% today, now sitting at $2.51 trillion. That is a sharp move for a single day, and traders are paying attention.
This rally did not come out of nowhere. It started building on August 19, right after a comment from Washington.
What caused today's crypto market rally?
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the government plans to buy back Treasuries to support the bond market. Traders took this as a signal that more liquidity could flow into the system.
More liquidity often means more money looking for returns. And risk assets like Bitcoin tend to benefit when that happens.
So traders began buying. Prices moved up. And that upward move triggered something bigger.
Why did $2.81 billion in short positions get liquidated?
When Bitcoin and other coins started climbing fast, traders who had bet against the market got squeezed. Their short positions were forced closed.
CoinGlass data shows $2.81 billion in short positions were wiped out in just 24 hours. This is the largest single-day short liquidation event the crypto sector has seen.
Here's how the numbers break down.
|
Asset |
Liquidations (24h) |
|
Bitcoin (BTC) |
$1.46 billion |
|
Ethereum (ETH) |
$976.6 million |
|
Solana (SOL) |
$109 million |
|
HYPE |
$58 million |
According to CoinGlass, 174,201 traders were liquidated in total across the market. Combined long and short liquidations reached $2.84 billion.
The single biggest liquidation order happened on Hyperliquid. One BTC-USD position worth $48.80 million was closed out.
How are crypto-related stocks reacting?
It is not just coins that moved. Crypto-linked stocks also had a strong session during US trading hours.
Market data from Bitget shows Strategy (MSTR) rose 15.53%. Coinbase (COIN) gained 13.41%. Bitdeer (BTDR) climbed 9.90%, and Circle (CRCL) added 7.49%.
The gains followed comments from President Donald Trump, who spoke in support of the crypto industry at a White House event with technology leaders.
What is Peter Schiff saying about the Bitcoin rally?
Not everyone is convinced this rally has real legs. Gold advocate and longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff shared his take on X.
Schiff called the move above $72,000 "a fakeout, not a breakout." He argued the Treasury buyback announcement caught markets off guard.
He also said Bitcoin investors have long believed that a return to easy money policy would push both gold and Bitcoin higher. Schiff says they are only half right, and he is telling people to sell Bitcoin and buy gold instead.
What this means for the crypto market going forward
Short squeezes like this one often move prices fast, but they can also reverse just as quickly. When forced buying dries up, the extra demand behind the rally can fade too.
That said, the liquidity story around Treasury buybacks is a real macro factor. If it continues, it could keep supporting risk assets, including crypto, over the coming weeks.
Nobody can say for sure where Bitcoin goes from here. The market will likely watch for follow-through buying versus a pullback in the next few sessions.
For now, the crypto market has posted one of its strongest days in months, driven by a mix of macro news, a massive short squeeze, and renewed political attention.
