Bitcoin, ether surge as Trump urges Congress to pass crypto Clarity Act
CNBC · 2026-08-20
Bitcoin and ether surged following former President Donald Trump's urging for Congress to pass a crypto Clarity Act, a move expected to boost the sector. This political endorsement, coupled with Trump's stated plans to potentially purchase sizable amounts of Bitcoin, significantly buoyed market sentiment. Analysts like Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, anticipate Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by year-end 2026.
The rally was further fueled by a U.S. Treasury announcement to increase the buyback of 20-year and 30-year bonds, which Charlie Hayward of RootstockCollective noted lowers yields and enhances the attractiveness of higher-risk assets like Bitcoin. Max Stuedlein, head of Partnerships at Sygnum APAC, called this an "alignment of macro and policy catalysts." The resulting market activity triggered the second-largest short liquidation in history, according to Thomas Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat, pushing ether to a three-month high. Ether rose approximately 19% in the past seven days to $2,251, while Bitcoin broke out of a six-week range between $62,000 and $66,000, a period David Morrison of Trade Nation described as "frustrating" for traders due to low volatility.
*The full article also explores the specific details of the proposed Clarity Act and its potential long-term implications for cryptocurrency regulation.*