(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.
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds had their strongest weekly inflow in 10 months last week as the token surged. The 13 US-listed funds drew in a net US$1.92 billion, the most since early October last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The funds also posted their biggest single day of inflows in over three months, pulling in US$606.3 million on Aug 20.
The crypto market got an added boost the day of Bessent’s announcement with a meeting between President Donald Trump and industry leaders. The meeting revived optimism around the administration’s commitment to crypto. Legislative momentum had slowed recently after the Clarity Act, a market structure bill, failed to make it to a vote before the Senate’s August recess. Trump urged the chamber to pass the bill, and it is expected to be taken up again in mid-September.
The subsequent surge in bitcoin’s price caught many traders off guard. About US$7.2 billion in leveraged bearish bets across all cryptoassets were liquidated last week, according to Coinglass data.
Crypto traders have been hunting for a market bottom for months. Bitcoin has been falling for much of 2026, following a selloff last October that came just after the token hit its all-time high.
Still, scepticism remains. Analysts have pointed to the short squeeze as the main driver of rising prices, suggesting demand may not be sustained.
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