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Bitcoin Heads for Its Best August Since 2017 as Bond Yields Test the Rally

By Isaac • August 31, 2026 3:20 pm • Comments

Bitcoin entered the final hours of August up nearly 25% for the month, putting it on course for its strongest August since 2017.

The close is coming under pressure. Bitcoin traded around $78,000 during Monday’s U.S. session while long-term Treasury yields moved back toward levels last seen nearly two decades ago.

That combination is testing whether the rally can hold after its fastest gains. Higher bond yields compete with risk assets for capital and tighten financial conditions.

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Cointelegraph tracked sharp intraday Bitcoin moves inside a relatively narrow range as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed the government’s bond-buyback plans. Bitcoin remained near $78,000, with month-to-date gains close to 25% and the 50-week exponential moving average near $77,269 acting as a key support area.

The same report put the 10-year Treasury yield at 4.76%, its highest level since January 2025. The 30-year yield reached 5.269%, only six basis points below its highest level since January 2007.

The Treasury plans to double the maximum size of long-dated buyback operations to $4 billion beginning in September. Yields initially fell after the announcement, then climbed back as traders waited to see how much demand the purchases would actually create.

The bond market is pushing back against the idea that expanded Treasury buybacks will quickly bring long-term yields down:

Bessent said in a CNBC interview that the government had not yet bought securities to support the long end of the curve. He also said he was comfortable with yields rebounding after the buyback announcement, leaving traders to judge whether more direct action could still follow.

Bitcoin spent much of August benefiting from expectations that easier financial conditions would support scarce assets. Monday’s price swings showed how quickly that story can reverse when yields climb.

The Treasury plans to raise the maximum size of its long-dated buyback operations to $4 billion beginning in September. Monday’s rebound in yields showed that an announced purchase schedule and an actual shift in bond-market demand are two different things.

21Shares connected the rally to the Treasury’s decision to double the maximum size of long-dated buyback operations from $2 billion to $4 billion. The research firm said markets treated the change as easing-like support even though a Treasury buyback does not itself expand the money supply.

Institutional flows reinforced the move. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in roughly $517 million on August 19, their strongest day since May, while the first two weeks of August brought about $1 billion in net inflows.

The ETF structure also widened access to the trade because investors could buy exposure through brokerage accounts without moving coins through an exchange or self-custody wallet. The inflow numbers show that this channel was already converting a macro view into actual Bitcoin purchases during August.

Price strength has not erased the market’s thinner foundation. CryptoSlate reported that Bitcoin was headed for its best August since 2017 while exchange trading volume remained near three-year lows.

The gap between price and participation is the central risk. A market can keep advancing on low volume, but fewer active orders can also amplify a large buyer or seller and make support less dependable.

That makes the monthly close more than a calendar milestone. Bitcoin is carrying a large gain into a session where geopolitical pressure, stocks moving lower and the bond market all give traders reasons to reduce risk.

Daily momentum is adding another warning. Bitcoin held above its 50-week average during Monday’s session, but its relative strength index was no longer confirming every move higher.

An RSI divergence does not mean price must fall. It shows that momentum is softening while price holds up, making the next reaction around support more informative.

If Bitcoin can defend the upper-$77,000 area as yields remain elevated, it will have absorbed a difficult macro test without surrendering much of August’s gain. A break below that area would shift attention from the monthly record to the amount of demand left after the squeeze, ETF inflows and buyback enthusiasm.

Bitcoin has shown that serious capital will return when investors expect easier financial conditions. It has also held most of the advance as those expectations became less certain.

September begins with long-term yields near historic extremes, momentum cooling and trading volume still thin. Holding the August gain under those conditions would say more than the monthly record itself.

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