Bitcoin surges 11%, Ethereum 18%, XRP 10%: why crypto is exploding higher today

Bitcoin surged above $71,000 on Thursday as easier financial conditions, pro-crypto signals from Washington and a record short squeeze sent digital assets higher.

Ethereum jumped about 18% to above $2,250, while XRP gained around 10%. The broader crypto market added $190 billion as buying spread across major tokens.

The rally began after the US Treasury expanded long-dated bond buybacks, pulling Treasury yields lower and weakening the dollar.

That shift was amplified by Washington’s crypto-policy push and billions in forced short covering.

Treasury liquidity and Washington light the fuse

The Treasury said it would at least double liquidity-support buybacks across the 10- to 30-year part of the curve.

The move helped push the 30-year yield towards 5.18% and the 10-year towards 4.63%, reversing part of the bond rout.

Lower yields reduce the relative appeal of cash and government debt while improving appetite for riskier assets.

“We’re not surprised by the $517 million inflow into bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday,” BTSE COO Jeff Mei told The Block, calling it a natural reaction to the Treasury announcement. He said softer yields and a weaker dollar were restoring risk appetite.

Policy headlines added another tailwind, as President Donald Trump urged Congress at a White House event on Wednesday to advance a “fair” version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, appearing alongside executives from Coinbase, Gemini and Ripple.

The Treasury action was aimed at supporting bond-market liquidity, but digital assets benefited indirectly through easier financial conditions.

A record short squeeze turns the rally violent

The move was magnified by one of crypto’s largest recorded short squeezes.

CoinGlass data showed nearly $3 billion of positions liquidated across more than 172,000 traders over 24 hours. Shorts accounted for about 92% of the total, with bearish positions losing roughly $2.74 billion.

Bitcoin alone saw more than $1 billion of shorts closed within roughly an hour, while Ethereum generated about $1.13 billion of liquidations.

When leveraged short positions are forcibly closed, exchanges buy back the underlying asset, adding fuel and potentially triggering further liquidations.

Avinash Shekhar, co-founder and CEO of Pi42, told The Economic Times that Bitcoin’s move reflected improving macro liquidity alongside an unwind of bearish positioning.

He also pointed to Ethereum’s stronger breakout as evidence that demand was spreading beyond Bitcoin.

Solana and other large-cap tokens posted double-digit gains, while XRP pushed through $1.15.

ETF flows will decide whether the rally lasts

Forced buying can produce explosive moves, but it eventually exhausts itself. Fresh capital becomes critical if the rally is to hold.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $517.19 million on Wednesday, their largest daily inflow since May 4. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $284.7 million.

BTC Markets analyst Rachael Lucas told The Block that the flows reflected renewed institutional positioning rather than “pure retail FOMO.”

She described the money as longer-horizon allocations from investors capable of moving significant capital.

The technical picture has improved. Bitcoin’s hold above $70,000 is the immediate test, while Ethereum needs to defend the $2,200 region.

XRP has pushed through $1.15, although FXEmpire sees its 200-day exponential moving average near $1.32 as a more important trend hurdle.

Delta Exchange analyst Riya Sehgal said that the next test is whether prices remain elevated once liquidation-driven momentum fades.

The Treasury move and Washington’s policy signals provided the spark, while nearly $3 billion of liquidations turned the rally into a stampede. Strong ETF inflows suggest genuine capital is joining the move.

If Bitcoin can hold above $70,000 after the short squeeze fades, Thursday’s surge could look less like a relief rally and more like a broader shift in crypto’s trend.