Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary, said he would double the size of Government Bonds buybacks to stabilize the U.S. Treasury market. Afterward, Treasury yields fell and sentiment toward virtual asset investment recovered, sending bitcoin sharply higher.
According to CoinMarketCap, a global virtual asset market data site, as of 8:05 a.m. on the 20th, bitcoin was at $69,290.29. It was up 7.20% from 24 hours earlier.
Ethereum, the No. 2 by market capitalization, was trading up 17.40% at $2,247.34. Ripple (XRP) was up 9.65% at $1.09, and Solana was up 10.95% at $85.42.
According to Coinglass data, about $1.4 billion (about 1.9 trillion won) in short positions were reportedly forcibly liquidated or closed out via margin calls over four hours.
Along with a surge in virtual asset-related stocks, New York stocks finished higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 119.65 points, or 0.22%, from the previous trading day to close at 53,463.05. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 16.59 points, or 0.22%, to 7,708.35, and the Nasdaq composite added 41.38 points, or 0.16%, to 26,331.09.