Bitcoin (BTC) surged past $68,000 on Wednesday, reaching its highest level since June, as a combination of falling Treasury yields and renewed buying from large holders provided a tailwind after months of subdued trading. The cryptocurrency gained roughly 5% in 24 hours to trade at $68,458, according to CoinGecko.
The move followed the U.S. Treasury's announcement that it plans to at least double the size of its bond buyback operations to $4 billion or more per operation. That news pushed the 30-year Treasury yield down about eight basis points to 5.2%, with the 10-year yield also declining, easing pressure on risk assets like bitcoin.
Whale accumulation resumes
Bitcoin had struggled in recent months, falling roughly 50% from its October record of $126,200 and seeing retail participation wane as crypto funds recorded outflows. However, data from CryptoQuant indicates that large holders have returned to accumulation mode.
Over the past 60 days, large Bitcoin holders—excluding exchanges and mining pools—have added approximately 43,000 BTC, worth about $2.75 billion at current prices. The accumulation began as bitcoin moved toward the $60,000 level, according to the data.
Smaller holders, often referred to as dolphins, have also increased their balances. Glassnode data points to buying across several investor cohorts, with those holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC stepping up purchases, and investors with more than 10,000 BTC—dubbed "humpbacks"—also accumulating.
Glassnode's Sean Rose noted that the data shows "renewed buying across all cohorts since late July," a signal that larger investors may find current prices attractive after the prolonged decline. This trend comes as Strategy, bitcoin's largest corporate buyer, has shifted away from its previous pattern of purchasing the cryptocurrency.
BlackRock: decline is a positioning correction
BlackRock has maintained its longer-term bitcoin investment thesis despite the steep decline and continued outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs. In a recent report, the asset manager described bitcoin's roughly 50% drop from its October 2025 peak as a "positioning correction rather than a change in its investment case."
BlackRock attributed the move below $60,000 to cascading liquidations following a period of heavy leverage in bitcoin derivatives. Open interest in bitcoin derivatives exceeded $90 billion in early October as speculative positioning increased. A macro-driven risk-off event triggered large-scale deleveraging across crypto and precious metals, pushing bitcoin to cycle lows below $60,000 by June 2026.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust recorded $78.9 million in net outflows in the week through August 14, while combined outflows across all spot bitcoin ETF products reached $267.2 million.
Risk correlation could decline
BlackRock expects bitcoin's correlation with traditional risk assets to decline as speculative excess is removed from the market. The asset manager noted that bitcoin has historically recovered following major political and macroeconomic disruptions, and it outperformed both the S&P 500 and gold in the weeks and months following several shocks in recent years. Bitcoin also delivered positive returns following the onset of the US-Iran conflict in 2026, according to BlackRock.
However, bitcoin remains more volatile than traditional assets. Its 12-month realized volatility is around 40%, compared with 26% for gold and 12% for the S&P 500. Its rolling six-month correlation with the S&P 500, based on a 10-year average, is 0.18, compared with 0.06 for gold.
BlackRock said bitcoin's investment case increasingly resembles gold's role as a potential global monetary alternative and hedge against inflation, geopolitical disruption, and declining confidence in fiat currencies. For more on bitcoin's recent price action, see bitcoin's ETF inflows resume. Meanwhile, gold rebounds above $4,350 as Fed minutes loom, and ethereum whales accumulate 100K ETH.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
