Aug. 19 turned out to be an extraordinary day for the crypto market as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies began rallying after the U.S.
Treasury announced it is at least doubling the amount of longer-term government bond buybacks
The market-supporting measure is intended to improve liquidity and reduce stress in longer-dated Treasuries. In the short term, it can loosen financial conditions and make risk assets like Bitcoin more attractive. Due to the months-long bearish market conditions following the flash crash on Oct. 10, 2025, crypto traders had been holding massive short positions for a long time.
But as crypto prices began rallying on Aug. 19, those bearish traders rushed to liquidate their positions. As per the onchain analysis platform CoinGlass, crypto shorts worth $2.73 billion got wiped out on Aug. 19. In contrast, longs worth only $248.10 million got liquidated on the day.