Bitcoin rebounds to $77K as Trump pushes Congress on crypto law

Crypto traders have waited months for a catalyst, and this week it came from two directions: the U.S. Treasury's bond-buying surprise and President Trump's direct call for Congress to move on crypto legislation. Bitcoin's climb from below $60,000 in June to above $77,000 on Friday marks a decisive break from the regulatory gloom that defined the first half of 2026.

The week of August 17-21, 2026, delivered a sharp inflection for two assets that had spent months in a punishing slump. Bitcoin, which began the year near a high of roughly $95,000, had collapsed below $60,000 by the end of June as investors shunned speculative assets and crypto advocates grew frustrated by the lack of regulatory progress. Gold, after peaking above $5,300 in January, had fallen to around $4,000 in June as rising interest rates made yield-bearing instruments more attractive. By Friday, the picture had reversed: Bitcoin rose above $77,000 and gold climbed to $4,661, capping what the syndicated report from the Manila Times, WSLS, and KDH News describes as an MVP week for both alternative assets.

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Bitcoin's climb from below $60,000 in June to above $77,000 on Friday marks a decisive break from the regulatory gloom that defined the first half of 2026.

The dominant catalyst arrived Wednesday when the U.S. Treasury Department surprised markets by announcing it would at least double the size of its planned purchases of longer-term government debt. The maneuver was intended to calm a bond market that had been gripped by a sustained sell-off, during which investors demanded higher yields to lend to a U.S. government suddenly viewed as riskier. The Treasury's forced entry into the long end of the curve worked, at least briefly, to stabilize prices. But it also raised an uncomfortable question: is the government trying to push borrowing costs lower despite ongoing inflationary pressures? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is explicitly attempting to reduce long-term borrowing costs, a policy that can put upward pressure on inflation expectations if investors believe fiscal and monetary authorities are engineering easier financial conditions.

Gold's recovery makes direct sense through that lens. The metal's June slump was tied to the appeal of interest-bearing assets when rates were rising. A Treasury program that absorbs longer-dated supply and leans against yields erodes that relative appeal. More importantly, the intervention signals a form of fiscal dominance: the government is stepping in to manage its own debt market. For gold investors, that reinforces the long-standing argument for holding a non-yielding store of value outside the reach of government balance sheets. A simultaneous dollar sell-off amplified the move, since gold is priced in dollars and becomes cheaper for foreign buyers when the greenback weakens.

Bitcoin benefited from the same macro shift, but it received an additional, specifically crypto-oriented catalyst on the same day. President Donald Trump, who reportedly earned about $1.2 billion last year from various crypto holdings, urged Congress to move quickly on crypto legislation. For a market that had been starved of regulatory clarity, the public push from the White House offered a meaningful sentiment reset. The nearly $17,000 swing from the June trough to Friday's close above $77,000 reflects the combination of a weaker dollar, lower-yield pressure, and renewed hope for a workable U.S. crypto framework. Still, the rally should be read carefully: a presidential statement is not a law, and regulatory promises have previously failed to convert into durable market structure.