Bitcoin rose more than 24% over the week, climbing from around $63,000 to nearly $79,500 and finishing the week above $77,000. According to the source report, that marks its best weekly showing since March 2024, and by some measures one of the biggest weekly gains seen in recent years.
The move was not framed as a simple technical rebound. A series of crypto-friendly signals from Washington, together with improving liquidity expectations after a U.S. Treasury decision on long-dated bond buybacks, helped set the stage. Once price broke higher, forced short covering added another leg to the rally.
Breakout above the range accelerated the move
The report said Bitcoin had spent weeks trading around the $60,000 area, while volatility compressed to multi-year lows. Above that range sat a dense cluster of short liquidation levels. When the market pushed through them, buy orders triggered by forced liquidations quickly magnified the advance.
During the same week, the U.S. Treasury said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buybacks for 10-20 year and 20-30 year Treasuries, raising the cap from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective Sept. 9. The article said that move helped pull long-dated Treasury yields back from near 19-year highs and improved liquidity expectations for risk assets.
$2.74 billion in short liquidations set a CoinGlass record
CoinGlass data showed that about $2.74 billion in crypto short positions were forcibly liquidated over 24 hours as prices surged, marking the largest short liquidation event recorded by the platform since its data series began in 2021.
Total liquidations came close to $3 billion. Shorts accounted for about 92% of that amount, while long liquidations were only about $257 million, a ratio of more than 10 to 1.
Within that total, Bitcoin short liquidations were estimated at about $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion, while Ethereum short liquidations reached about $1.13 billion. The single biggest liquidation was a roughly $48.8 million Bitcoin short on Hyperliquid. Early in the move, more than $1 billion in Bitcoin shorts were wiped out in about an hour.
The source article said the market had previously leaned bearish and leveraged short positions had built up. After policy signals improved and macro liquidity expectations shifted, short sellers were forced to buy back positions, reinforcing the rise.
SEC proposes a new token issuance exemption framework
On Aug. 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a new framework called "Regulation Crypto Assets," aimed at simplifying the process for crypto projects selling tokens to the public.
The proposal includes two exemptions. A startup exemption would allow fundraising of up to $5 million over four years. A financing exemption would allow up to $75 million a year, split into two tiers, with principle-based disclosure and financial reporting requirements attached.
The proposal also includes a conditional safe harbor. Under that provision, certain tokens would no longer be treated as investment contracts after the issuer stops the key managerial efforts it had promised, allowing those assets to fall outside securities regulation. The proposal is open for public comment for 60 days.
According to the report, the market read the plan as a sign that Washington is lowering the barrier for crypto companies to operate legally in the United States.
CLARITY Act remains stalled as CFTC signals it can move on its own
The broader framework is still stuck in Congress. The CLARITY Act is meant to define which parts of crypto assets fall under securities regulation and which fall under commodities regulation. Under the bill, securities and crypto fundraising would mainly stay with the SEC, while digital commodity trading would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission broader authority and create a legal structure for crypto exchanges operating in the U.S.
The article said the bill stalled before the Senate’s August recess, with a procedural vote possibly delayed until mid-September.
On Aug. 20, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said that if Congress keeps delaying because of Democratic opposition, the CFTC would use its existing authority to move "swiftly" on crypto market rules. He said, "We will answer President Trump's call and build a digital asset market structure that crypto opponents cannot easily overturn."
Trump names Hyperliquid as HYPE jumps 20% to 30%
A day earlier, Trump said during a White House meeting with crypto executives that CFTC Chair Selig was working to bring Hyperliquid, which currently blocks U.S. users, into the United States in a "fully compliant and legal way."
After the remarks were made public, Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE briefly rose more than 20% to 30%.
The report said investors took the SEC proposal and Trump’s comments together as evidence that Washington is taking steps to make it easier for crypto companies and markets to operate legally in the United States. Those signals arrived while traders were still positioned for downside, making them a direct catalyst for the short squeeze.
Bitcoin remains near the highs
As of publication, Bitcoin was still trading near its highs. The source article said the next questions for the market are whether policy expectations can turn into sustained capital inflows, and how positioning is rebuilt after the liquidation wave.