Bitcoin pushed above $81,000 on Monday — $81,237.94, to be precise — for its highest level since mid-May, as a softer dollar and the Treasury's plan to buy back long-dated bonds gave fresh legs to the "debasement trade." The token traded around $80,323 during Asian hours, up about 28% for the month. If it holds, that's the best monthly performance since November 2024.
The Treasury angle
The rally's fuel isn't crypto-specific. The Treasury said it will buy back long-dated government bonds, a move that weakens the dollar's purchasing power and nudges investors toward scarce assets — things with a fixed supply. Bitcoin's is hard-capped at 21 million coins.
Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick framed it as exactly the environment that benefits Bitcoin: a backdrop where the currency's debasement is the trade, and hard assets get the bid.
A 28% month
August has been brutal for bears. The token's up about 28%, and part of that momentum predates the Treasury news. Roughly 16% of the gain has come since President Donald Trump urged Congress to advance cryptocurrency legislation. That call, plus the dollar's slide, has kept buyers stepping in through the month.
Gold is catching the same bid
The same conditions pushed gold to a three-month high. When the dollar's story is debasement, both gold and Bitcoin tend to move together — both are scarce, neither has a central bank printing more of it.
What's left to watch is whether the Treasury actually delivers on the buyback, and how much more the dollar gives up. For now, the market's betting the debasement trade has room to run.
