Bitcoin Jumps 21% to $77K as Bessent Doubles Treasury Buybacks and Hyperliquid Surges 19%

Bitcoin surged roughly 21% from $64.7K to above $77K between August 17 and 24, 2026, driven by a record $2.74 billion short liquidation — the largest wipeout since tracking began. The move traces back to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubling long-dated Treasury buybacks from $2B to $4B per operation, while Hyperliquid's HYPE token jumped 19% on news that the CFTC is working to bring the exchange onshore.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin rose about 21%, from $64.7K to above $77K, on a record $2.74B short liquidation.
• Scott Bessent doubled long-dated Treasury buybacks from $2B to $4B per operation the same day — described as the actual trigger behind the risk-asset move.
• Hyperliquid's HYPE gained 19% after Trump said the CFTC is working to bring the exchange onshore.
• The SEC proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets," the first crypto fundraising framework in the agency's 90-year history.
• The Fed's July minutes came in hawkish with three dissents for a hike; markets now price roughly one-in-three odds of a September rate increase.

What happened across tech, AI and crypto this week?

The table below reproduces every figure from the August 17–24 recap, spanning crypto markets, regulation, AI and adjacent tech names that moved alongside them.

Name	News
Anthropic	Reportedly preparing to file for an IPO as soon as this month, on ~$65B annualized revenue and a valuation target near $2T
Bitcoin	Ripped from $64.7K to above $77K, up ~21% on the week, on a record $2.74B short liquidation
Scott Bessent	Doubled long-dated Treasury buybacks from $2B to $4B per operation, the actual trigger behind the risk-asset move
SEC	Proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets," the first crypto fundraising framework in the agency's 90-year history
Trump	Hosted Armstrong, the Winklevoss twins, Tenev and Nazarov at the White House
Hyperliquid	HYPE jumped 19% after Trump said the CFTC is working to bring it onshore
CFTC	Held its first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting
Nvidia	First H200s landed in China, roughly 10,000 each to ByteDance and Tencent
Fed	July minutes came in hawkish, with three dissents for a hike; markets now price ~1-in-3 odds of a September rate increase
Tesla	Won unanimous Nevada approval for up to 5,000 robotaxis in Clark County

What actually moved Bitcoin's price this week?

Bitcoin's roughly 21% rally from $64.7K to above $77K was set off by a record $2.74 billion short liquidation, but the deeper cause was Scott Bessent doubling long-dated Treasury buybacks from $2B to $4B per operation on the same day. A short liquidation is the forced closure of a leveraged bet that an asset's price will fall, typically triggered when the price rises far enough that traders can no longer meet margin requirements — and forced buying to close those positions compounds the upward move.

Bessent's buyback move mattered more than the headline liquidation number because it eased pressure on long-dated Treasury yields, freeing capital to rotate into risk assets like Bitcoin. The $2.74B liquidation figure is described as the largest single wipeout since tracking began, meaning short-side leverage across the market was unwound almost entirely in one stretch. That combination — a policy-driven liquidity signal plus a cascading squeeze — explains why the move looked abrupt even though the underlying catalyst was a Treasury operation, not a crypto-native headline.

Why did Hyperliquid's HYPE jump 19%?

HYPE gained 19% after Trump said the CFTC is actively working to bring Hyperliquid onshore in the United States. That single comment reframed the exchange's regulatory outlook, since a formal U.S. pathway would reduce the compliance uncertainty that has historically capped valuations for offshore-first perpetual DEXs.

The timing lines up with the CFTC's first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting, where officials reportedly signaled they would build a crypto regime using existing authority if Congress stalls on broader legislation. For a platform whose trading volume and open interest are core to its valuation, a credible onshore route changes the calculus for institutional participation. Readers can compare how Hyperliquid stacks up against other venues via the site's perp DEX comparison tools.

What is the SEC's Regulation Crypto Assets proposal?

The SEC's "Regulation Crypto Assets" is described as the first crypto fundraising framework the agency has proposed in its 90-year history. It arrived the same week Trump hosted Brian Armstrong, the Winklevoss twins, Vlad Tenev and Nazarov at the White House to push the CLARITY Act, and the CFTC held its inaugural Innovation Advisory Committee meeting.

Taken together, these three developments — a new SEC fundraising rulebook, White House lobbying for legislation, and a CFTC committee laying regulatory groundwork — mark a coordinated policy push rather than isolated announcements. The post frames Washington as "rewriting the rules" over a three-day span, with the market repricing Bitcoin and Hyperliquid almost simultaneously as a result.

What else moved in AI and tech this week?

Outside crypto, Anthropic is reportedly preparing to file for an IPO as soon as this month, running at roughly $65B in annualized revenue with a valuation target near $2 trillion. Nvidia's H200 chips landed in China for the first time, with roughly 10,000 units each going to ByteDance and Tencent, while Tesla won unanimous Nevada approval for up to 5,000 robotaxis in Clark County.

The Federal Reserve's July minutes came in hawkish, with three officials dissenting in favor of a rate hike rather than a cut. Markets now price roughly one-in-three odds of a September rate increase, a meaningful shift that puts this week's Jackson Hole symposium in focus as the next catalyst for both traditional and crypto markets. For background on how liquidation cascades work in leveraged markets, see what is a liquidation.

Bottom line

The week's numbers point to a market where policy moves — a doubled Treasury buyback, a CFTC onshoring signal, a new SEC framework — did more to shift prices than any single crypto-native event, evidenced by Bitcoin's 21% run and Hyperliquid's 19% pop happening in tandem with Washington's activity. With the Fed pricing in a possible September hike rather than a cut, Jackson Hole becomes the next data point to watch for whether this rally has monetary-policy legs or was a one-off liquidity squeeze.