A Bitcoin rally of roughly 9% in 24 hours pushed the cryptocurrency above USD 75,000, with the price reaching about USD 76,400 this week. The move was driven by Donald Trump’s push for a US market structure law and by the US Treasury’s decision to double buybacks of longer-dated government bonds.

The Clarity Act is the central US market structure bill for digital assets. It would determine which crypto assets are classified as securities and which are classified as commodities. It would also divide oversight responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC, while creating a federal supervisory framework. The bill already passed the House of Representatives in 2025, but it has since stalled in the Senate. In mid-August, Trump hosted the heads of major crypto firms and exchange operators at the White House, putting a long-running regulatory issue back in front of both Wall Street and Washington.

Bitcoin had been trading between USD 60,000 and 70,000 since the spring before breaking out this week. The Treasury’s bond-buyback move added another catalyst. Each operation will now cover at least USD 4 billion, up from a previous maximum of USD 2 billion.

Trump’s crypto summit puts the Clarity Act on the agenda

The White House meeting brought together senior figures from the US crypto industry. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong attended, along with Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chainlink Labs CEO Sergey Nazarov were also present, while Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss received invitations. From the traditional exchange sector, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman and ICE chief Jeffrey Sprecher joined the gathering. SEC chair Paul Atkins and CFTC chair Mike Selig also attended.

The legislation would assign new responsibilities to their agencies, underscoring how closely crypto exchanges and traditional market infrastructure are now intertwined. Trump used the event to press Congress publicly, linking the bill to competition with China and calling for a quick Senate vote. Democrats, however, are blocking a vote.

"We need Congress to take the next step and pass the Clarity Act, a fair version of the Clarity Act. It is a very, very strong, well-structured piece of legislation that keeps us ahead of China and everyone else." - Donald Trump, US President

Markets reacted immediately nonetheless. The day before the meeting, Bitcoin traded around USD 68,000. It later rose to USD 72,000 and then moved above USD 75,000 in the following trading days. The rally so far has been driven by a declaration of intent rather than by any formal decision from Washington, meaning traders are pricing in legislation that does not yet exist.

Bond buybacks ease rate concerns

The second driver came from the bond market rather than crypto policy. On the same day, the US Treasury said it would at least double its buybacks of longer-dated government bonds. In a buyback, the government purchases its own outstanding bonds on the secondary market, reducing the amount outstanding in the affected maturities and supporting prices.

Going forward, the Treasury will deploy at least USD 4 billion per operation. The program previously had a maximum size of USD 2 billion. The buyback window runs from September 9 to November 4.

The timing was notable. The yield on 30-year US Treasuries had climbed to its highest level in roughly two decades, reaching levels last seen before the financial crisis. That market is widely viewed as a gauge of long-term inflation and debt expectations. Higher long-term rates make government financing more expensive and can weigh on rate-sensitive assets. After the announcement, the yield initially fell by around 10 basis points before rising again the next day.

For crypto markets, the signal behind the move matters more than the immediate rate change. When the finance ministry intervenes at the long end of the yield curve, financing conditions ease indirectly. For institutional investors, that still matters because lower yields on safe government bonds can make volatile assets relatively more attractive. The buybacks will not begin until September, so their effect on the yield curve remains ahead.

Institutional money confirms the Bitcoin rally

The move was not driven by futures speculation alone. On the day of the White House meeting, USD 517 million flowed into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, the largest daily inflow since early May. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for USD 284.7 million. Another USD 606 million followed a day later. In the week to August 20, the funds collected roughly USD 1 billion net, the strongest weekly inflow since mid-January.

Spot ETF inflows are viewed as a sign of regulated capital because the funds must hold the underlying coins physically. By contrast, leveraged futures positions can be unwound within hours.

Crypto-linked equities also advanced. Strategy rose about 13% on the day of the meeting and another 9% the next day. Coinbase initially gained 11% and then added another 6% to 8%. Both stocks outpaced Bitcoin’s move. The Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet held around 43,000 BTC in mid-August and reported a Bitcoin yield of 9.6% for the first half of 2026.

Part of the move also came from forced liquidations. The price increase triggered a liquidation wave of around USD 3 billion. Such cascades can magnify moves in both directions. Risk appetite then spread more broadly across the crypto market: XRP gained 17.7%, Cardano 13.1%, and Dogecoin 11.5%. Ether rose 5.6%, Solana 6.2%, and BNB 6.7%.

Clarity Act remains blocked in the Senate

For now, the regulatory catalyst behind the rally remains only a draft. The Senate was originally expected to vote on the Clarity Act before the summer recess, but in early August the chamber postponed the date amid a dispute over ethics rules and resistance from the banking sector. The Senate did open the first procedural stage in the same month, and a procedural vote to open debate is scheduled for September 15. That vote would not decide the substance of the bill.

Without a federal law, the classification of individual tokens remains up to supervisory agencies. The odds of passage have also deteriorated since the delay. Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket currently price approval this year at 16% to 24%, down from a previous Kalshi reading of 25%. The November midterm elections also narrow the remaining Senate window.

For now, Trump’s appearance has changed the discussion, but not the congressional arithmetic.