The White House and SEC provide a boost, the market rises across the board.

Written by: Maher, Foresight News

On August 20, the crypto market welcomed a long-awaited significant increase.

According to the latest data from Bitget, in the past 24 hours, BTC rose over 8%, briefly surpassing the $70,000 mark, currently priced at $69,600, reaching a new high since June this year. Other major coins also experienced significant fluctuations, with ETH rising over 18%, rapidly increasing from $1,900 to a peak of $2,336, currently priced at $2,263, marking a new high since May this year. SOL rose over 10%, priced at $85.18.

In the DEX sector, HYPE skyrocketed by 19.2%, priced at $69.55, LIT increased by 1.44%, priced at $2.67. In the meme coin sector, TRUMP surged over 26%, currently priced at $1.777. Other altcoins also followed the market trend with broad gains.

According to coinglass data, the total amount of liquidated contracts across the network in the past 24 hours reached $2.977 billion, with shorts accounting for $2.735 billion.

Regarding the Fear and Greed Index, the latest data from CoinMarketCap shows that its value has risen from 41 yesterday to 55, indicating that market sentiment is neutral.

The US stock market related to cryptocurrency also performed strongly, with MSTR rising 12.7% yesterday, marking the largest single-day increase since February 6, closing at $104.25, a nearly 30-day high. COIN rose 9.55%, marking the largest single-day increase since July 21, closing at $160.2, also a recent high. CRCL increased by 9.56%, priced at $78.59. BLSH rose 9.34%, priced at $26.92.

Did Trump and the Treasury intervene to boost BTC?

After BTC surged and briefly broke through the $70,000 mark, a rumor circulated widely in the community. The rumor suggested that Trump called on his paid members on his Truth social platform by saying "Just Buy all crypto assets."

This rumor remains unverified; however, the real "call" was made during a meeting at the White House.

On August 20, Trump met with executives from the cryptocurrency and fintech industries at the White House, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, representatives from Kraken, Ripple, Gemini, Robinhood, and also SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig. Trump urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act, stating that it would help the US maintain its leading position over other countries and open doors for the next wave of innovation. However, according to Polymarket data, the probability of it becoming law this year remains at 21%.

Furthermore, President Trump stated that the US government has discussed plans to accumulate "large-scale" Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets.

In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order formally establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve specifically for holding Bitcoin, and a US digital asset reserve for other cryptocurrencies.

The Bitcoin held by the US government mostly comes from criminal and civil seizures (such as the Silk Road case), rather than from purchases in the open market. The estimated holding amounts to about 200,000 BTC, valued at approximately $14 billion at recent prices, making it the world's largest known sovereign holder of Bitcoin.

The core rule of the executive order is that the Bitcoin in the reserve must not be sold, but held as a long-term reserve asset. So far, the US has not officially initiated a large-scale public market buying program.

If a sovereign nation starts funds to purchase BTC, it would undoubtedly provide a significant buying force to raise Bitcoin prices.

Additionally, another direct trigger is the action from the US Treasury. On August 19, the Treasury announced that it would at least double the liquidity support for long-term government bond repurchase operations (10-30 years), raising the maximum per transaction from $2 billion to at least $4 billion, effective from September 9 until November 4. Following the announcement, the 30-year US bond yield fell from a high of about 5.34%, the dollar weakened, benefiting risk assets overall.

Is Hyperliquid about to enter the US market?

The rise of HYPE has more direct policy references. Trump explicitly stated at the White House meeting that he has learned that CFTC Chairman Michael Selig is working hard to promote Hyperliquid to enter the US market in a "fully compliant and legal" manner, stating "it is advancing very diligently."

Hyperliquid, as a perpetual contract trading platform, primarily serves overseas users.

Previously, representatives from Hyperliquid have discussed digital asset regulatory issues with the US SEC's cryptocurrency asset working group, covering the Hyperliquid ecosystem, technical architecture, and market regulatory pathways.

If Hyperliquid obtains access to the US market in the future, it may become an important case of compliance for decentralized derivatives trading platforms and further promote on-chain trading platforms entering the US mainstream financial market.

Trump's public statements are interpreted by the market as signals from the White House prioritizing its compliance entry into the US, directly stimulating buying in HYPE. HYPE quickly rose from around $58, briefly surpassing $72.

This is a typical case of policy referencing + narrative delivery driving, with a growth rate clearly higher than the market.

Ethereum benefits from SEC token issuance exemption

Ethereum's daily increase significantly surpasses Bitcoin's, not only due to the rebound in macro risk appetite and the short squeeze's elasticity advantages but also related to the new SEC regulations.

On August 18, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has proposed new regulations named "Cryptocurrency Asset Regulatory Regulations," aiming to establish a clear and applicable framework for specific investment contracts involving cryptocurrency assets.

The new regulations set a clear exemption pathway for specific investment contracts involving cryptocurrency assets: a one-time startup exemption of up to $5 million within four years, and a financing exemption of up to $75 million per year, accompanied by principled disclosure and conditional safe harbor mechanisms.

Previously, the ambiguous regulation in the US forced many projects to choose overseas issuance, with Ethereum being the primary smart contract and token issuance platform, directly benefiting from this shift—clearer compliance pathways are expected to retain more fundraising and development activities within the US, enhancing the real demand and ecological activity on the Ethereum network.

Outlook for future market trends

According to glassnode's on-chain data analysis report, the current Bitcoin market is in a capitulation phase, with the short-term holder cost basis decreased to $68,500, lower than the actual market average of $75,800, confirming that the market is still trading below the cost basis. On-chain data shows that the unrealized loss peak is about 0.25, significantly lower than the historical cycle's level of over 0.6, indicating that this round of decline is shallower and more widely distributed, requiring time to exchange space to digest chips. Glassnode points out that until the government bond yield shows a significant rollback and the realized profit and loss ratio does not return above 2, any rebound should be seen as a local rebound rather than a trend reversal.

Trader Michaël van de Poppe noted that Bitcoin's rapid rise above $69,000 has cleared the short liquidity above $68,200, with shorts being substantially forced out. He does not believe there will be a direct upward surge but tends to expect a pullback to the $66,500 to $67,000 range, where it could be a better buying point, with the next target looking toward $72,000 to $73,500.

Another trader CryptoCaligh stated, "ETHBTC broke through the 8-month resistance level in a single day, which is simply indescribable," and this trend has enormous significance for the current market, and is even very important for the coming years.