Ether jumps 18% to $2,250 as bitcoin tops $69,000 in broad crypto rally

Ether jumped 18% to $2,250 and bitcoin crossed $69,000 on Thursday, August 20, as a broad rally swept through crypto markets, per CoinDesk.

Nearly $1.4 billion in short positions were liquidated during the move, according to CoinDesk. The catalyst, as the outlet reports, was the U.S. Treasury doubling its bond buybacks, a policy shift that appeared to lift risk appetite across asset classes and drove traders out of bearish crypto positions.

Every major token except Tron posted double-digit weekly gains, CoinDesk reports. Tron was the lone notable holdout in an otherwise market-wide advance, suggesting the buying was broad rather than concentrated in a handful of assets.

The Treasury's bond buyback expansion marks a significant shift in U.S. debt management, and traders appear to have read it as a signal of looser financial conditions ahead — a backdrop that has historically correlated with strength in speculative assets including cryptocurrencies. The scale of short liquidations, nearly $1.4 billion, indicates the move caught a large cohort of bearish traders off-guard.

The primary source for this story is an RSS feed item from CoinDesk, authored by Shaurya Malwa and published at 04:10 UTC on August 20, 2026. No additional corroborating sources were provided, so figures should be treated as reflecting CoinDesk's reporting at the time of publication. Price levels and liquidation totals are subject to change as markets remain open.