Bitcoin Tops $75,000 After Trump Pushes Clarity Act

Bitcoin Tops $75,000 After Trump Pushes Clarity Act

The News

Bitcoin blew past $75,000 early Friday — its first time above that line since May — after the Treasury Department moved to double its debt buybacks and President Trump publicly pressed Congress to pass the stalled Clarity Act.

CNBC put the price at $75,343.01, up from $62,836.88 at the start of the week, a weekly gain of roughly 20%. Forbes clocked it at $75,268 early Friday, more than $10,000 higher than two days earlier.

The rally started Wednesday in the bond market, not the crypto market.

Timeline

Wednesday, Aug. 19:

The Treasury Department said it would "at least double" its debt buybacks to counter soaring Treasury yields, which have pushed borrowing costs higher this summer. Yields nosedived, easing pressure on risk assets.

Wednesday evening:

Trump hosted a surprise White House event with the chief executives of Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, Ripple and ChainLink and called on Congress to pass the Clarity Act, the crypto industry's long-stalled regulatory bill.

Thursday, Aug. 20:

Bitcoin jumped 4.6% to $72,475.25 — about 12% over two days — its highest level since June. Ether rose 3.4% to $2,329.96. Coinbase closed up 7.5%, Strategy 7.8% and Circle 6.45%, according to CNBC. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the accelerated buybacks could surpass the announced $4 billion mark. By Thursday, Treasury yields had largely reversed their declines, with the 30-year bond trading near 5.249%. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission held the first meeting of its Innovation Advisory Committee.

Friday, Aug. 21:

Bitcoin cleared $75,000. Ether hit $2,363, up more than 25% on the week, per Forbes. Solana's SOL rose 7%, Binance's BNB 6.4%, XRP 19.3% and DOGE 11.3% over 24 hours.

Reactions

"We need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act — a fair version of the Clarity Act," Trump said Wednesday. "It's a very, very powerful structured legislation which will keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else, will open the door to the next wave of innovations and innovators."

Max Stuedlein, head of partnerships at Sygnum APAC, told CNBC the Treasury's decision to double buybacks of long-dated government debt "is aimed at addressing long-term yield concerns, where borrowing costs have been rising on concerns over US debt levels and partial crowding out by debt issuances of hyperscalers."

Not everyone is buying the boom. Nic Puckrin, founder of Coin Bureau, told the New York Post the move is "a relief rally and a short squeeze — but the broader macro backdrop still looks pretty hawkish." He said he expects bitcoin to top $100,000 eventually, but not this year, and does not think the Clarity Act passes in 2026.

Lacie Zhang, a research analyst at Bitget Wallet, wrote Thursday that the White House wants to show it can lower borrowing costs and lift markets before November: "The legislative window could also narrow if Democrats gain seats and subject the administration's crypto rules to greater scrutiny."

What's Next

The Senate's first procedural vote on the Clarity Act is set for Sept. 15. The House approved the bill last summer, but it has sat in the Senate for roughly a year, with Democrats demanding restrictions that would bar Trump and other public officials from profiting off cryptocurrency and Republicans calling those changes too restrictive. The Senate adjourned for its August recess without taking it up. If it stalls again next month, its chances of advancing this year are effectively dead — a live worry for Republicans heading into the midterms.

More

The squeeze was brutal for anyone betting against crypto: roughly $2.7 billion in crypto short positions were liquidated, according to CoinGlass data cited by CNBC and the New York Post. Forbes reported more than $1.25 billion of liquidations in the past 24 hours alone, about $750 million of it bets against bitcoin.

For all the noise, bitcoin is still well short of its own records. It hit $94,820 in mid-January, its 2026 high, and an all-time high of $126,198 on Oct. 6 last year.

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