Bitcoin surpassed $70,000 for the first time in over two months, propelled by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s 'Operation Twist'-like move pushing US bond yields (and the dollar) lower followed by a high-stakes meeting President Trump held with crypto industry leaders.
“When yields drop and the dollar weakens, risk assets tend to rally, and we’ve already seen Bitcoin move higher on the news,” said Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at BTSE.
This morning, bitcoin has extended those gains, tagging $72,000...
And Ethereum has surged back up to $2300...
Which lifted ETH/BTC to its strongest level since the start of the year...
Bitcoin ETFs saw major inflows this week, especially yesterday, "as further proof of how institutional demand for crypto-assets is steadily growing,” said Vladimir Tikhomirov, co-founder of decentralized-finance firm Algebra.
But, probably the most notable feature of the price action of the last 24 hours (aside from its scale) was the unprecedented liquidation of short crypto positions...
Data from CoinGlass shows ongoing crypto short liquidations at $3.1 billion for Aug. 19-20.
Thursday’s tally was largest single-day wipeout of shorts ever recorded.
As CoinTelegraph reports, CoinGlass shows Bitcoin accounting for just over half of the total short liquidations at $1.65 billion.
The numbers do not represent the largest crypto liquidation event if long positions are included. It is dwarfed by the $20 billion long liquidation cascade that followed Bitcoin’s reversal from the most recent all-time high of $126,200 in October 2025.
In US dollar terms, data from CoinMarketCap puts Thursday’s total liquidations in seventh place historically, calculating the day’s long and short liquidations as $3.25 billion.
Rajiv Sawhney, head of international portfolio management at Wave Digital Assets, said yield-curve control “was the second-biggest market catalyst on our bucket list that could potentially supercharge a durable Bitcoin rally.”
The biggest catalyst would be a government mandate to buy Bitcoin for a national reserve, he said.
Bitfire Research notes that this rally was not driven by a single headline, but by a convergence of multiple catalysts: an overcrowded short structure meeting regulatory tailwinds, falling long-end yields, and cross-sector capital rotation.
The most direct trigger came from overcrowded short positions accumulated over six months of consolidation. Bitcoin's prolonged sideways trading around $60,000 allowed leveraged shorts to pile up. When prices broke through key liquidation clusters, forced buybacks triggered a chain reaction of covering, creating a positive feedback loop that amplified the squeeze.
Importantly, the spot market had already been signaling institutional accumulation before the derivatives squeeze erupted. On-chain data monitored by Bitfire Research reveals that institutional capital — including entities with listed company affiliations and vintage whale labels — had been actively accumulating at the $60,000 level. Confirming this picture, Bitfire Group's OTC desk posted a record-breaking July, with total trading volume surging 257% month-over-month. These two data streams — on-chain and OTC — point to the same conclusion: institutional spot buying had already picked up significantly before the price breakout, laying the groundwork for the rally.
On the policy front, the SEC unveiled a new digital asset regulatory framework with a safe harbor mechanism: up to $5 million in the launch phase and up to $75 million annually thereafter, with issuers able to exit securities classification upon completing compliance milestones. This sharply reduces compliance uncertainty for early-stage crypto projects, attracting incremental capital to reassess crypto risk pricing.
Macro liquidity also improved. After the 30-year US Treasury yield hit a near two-decade high, the Treasury announced plans to at least double its long-term bond buyback program, pushing the 30Y yield from 5.337% to 5.189%. Gold surged 4.33% in tandem. The decline in long-end yields opened room for Fed policy adjustments, providing liquidity support for high-beta risk assets.
On capital rotation, funds that had piled into AI narratives earlier in the year showed signs of returning. With Anthropic's Q2 revenue growth showing a second-order slowdown, the market began reassessing return expectations across asset classes, and crypto's relative appeal regained attention.
Additionally, Bloomberg reports that the return of positive sentiment to the crypto market was supported by Trump's meeting with crypto executives from firms including Coinbase, Payward, and Blockchain.com. The move helped revive optimism around the Clarity Act, a crypto market structure bill that failed to make it to a vote before the Senate’s August recess.
Trump called on Congress to pass a “fair version” of the Clarity Act, telling the crypto and finance executive attendees at the White House that market structure legislation is the next step in his administration’s digital asset agenda.
“Now we need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act, a fair version of the Clarity Act,” Trump said.
“It’s a very, very powerful structure legislation which will keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else. We’ll open the door to the next wave of innovations and innovators.”
The legislation has stalled over a fight regarding ethics provisions. Trump urged the Senate to pass the bill, and the chamber is expected to take it up again when it returns in mid-September.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 10:40The FBI executed a search warrant against former congressman Eric Swalwell on Saturday after he landed at San Francisco Airport - seizing his electronic devices, including his cell phone, as part of a federal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the Daily Mail reports.
According to the report:
The agents, armed with additional court-approved search warrants, then entered his house in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, seizing additional undisclosed potential evidence, well-placed sources tell the Daily Mail.
Sources say Swalwell started his day Saturday in Washington, where he still maintains a residence with his wife and three children.
He headed to the airport later in the day and flew to his home state of California. The feds were waiting for him when he stepped off the plane.
According to sources, Swalwell was cooperative.
The following day, neither he nor his wife Brittany Watts were home when the feds rolled up to their property in Northeast DC.
The DOJ launched a criminal investigation into multiple sexual assault and misconduct allegations lodged against the California democrat. Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating an alleged 2024 sexual assault in a New York City hotel room involving a former staffer, while the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office have opened inquiries into a separate 2018 claim. Prosecutors have been assigned to review evidence in the LA case.
Agents, armed with additional court-approved search warrants, also entered his house in Washington, DC on SundaySwalwell stepped down from congress in April amid bipartisan pressure and a House Ethics Committee probe into the claims, after the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported claims from a former staffer and three other women. The former aide accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her on two occasions: once in 2019 while she was employed by him, and again in April 2024 after a gala event in New York, where she said she was too intoxicated to consent and attempted to refuse. Three additional women described unwanted explicit messages, unsolicited nude photos, and harassment, some occurring during his gubernatorial campaign.
Then a fifth woman, Lonna Drewes - a Beverly Hills-based former model and fashion software entrepreneur - held a news conference to detail her accusations. Drewes alleged that in July 2018, after meeting Swalwell socially and believing they were developing a friendship, he invited her to his West Hollywood hotel room under the pretense of picking up papers. She claimed he drugged her drink, raped her, and choked her until she lost consciousness. Drewes said she had only one glass of wine that evening and provided authorities with journal entries, texts, and photos as evidence. She has since reported the incident to law enforcement and stands with the other accusers.
Swalwell has denied all allegations.
The incident comes on the heels of new evidence that Swalwell admitted to having sex with a suspected Chinese spy, who the FBI assessed was likely operating on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security.
Memos describe Christine Fang, known as Fang Fang (FBI codename 'Rusty Thumbs') cultivating Swalwell through sexual encounters, intern referrals into his congressional offices, and campaign contributions routed through American conduits to conceal her status as a prohibited foreign national. Investigators cleared Swalwell of criminal wrongdoing in 2017. Fang was never charged.
During FBI interviews in 2015 and 2016, Swalwell acknowledged meeting Fang during his initial 2012 congressional campaign and admitted to multiple sexual encounters with her. He confirmed that Fang referred several interns to his campaign and congressional offices, explaining that he treated her referrals as coming from the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs (APAPA) organization.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 10:25The South Korean government has observed an alarming new launch of a missile barrage by North Korea on Thursday, announcing that an unidentified projectile was fired off the peninsula's east coast on Thursday.
"The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches of about 10 short-range ballistic missiles happened from North Korea’s capital region around 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Thursday," the Associated Press details. "The military said the missiles flew about 300 kilometers (185 miles) each toward North Korea’s eastern waters."
via Reuters"The military said South Korea has bolstered its surveillance posture and was closely coordinating information on the launches with the U.S. and Japan," AP adds based on the statement. "South Korea’s presidential national security council issued a statement urging North Korea to halt ballistic missile launches."
The new test is obviously meant to send a strong message, given it follows Pyongyang's dismissal of President Trump's decision to scale back US military exercises with South Korea this week.
Without doubt, Kim Jong-Un is welcoming the sudden attention from Trump, but if there's hope of rekindling the 'bromance' - this is basically Kim playing hard to get.
North Korea's stance is that simply scaling back the exercises doesn't make them any less provocative and less of a threat to its national security.
The North Korean strongman's influential sister has weighed in: "We think it’s not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all," she said, as cited in state media. "The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced," she added.
President Trump has been questioned by reporters on if there is currently an exchange of letters or any level of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.
Kim Yo Jong as part of her statement denied that there's any communication: "If the U.S. calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as the one of so-called good faith, they will not get the desired answer," she also said.
However, there was this key caveat and positive remark in passing:
Kim Yo Jong's statement did not contain North Korea’s typically harsh rhetoric. She briefly said relations between her brother and Trump are "still excellent," mentioning her brother’s past comments that he still has "good memories" of Trump.
So there it is... Kim is playing hard to get while recalling all the fond memories.
As for the White House, it probably needs a new distraction on the foreign policy front, given how much the Iran war has turned against Washington's favor. If another face-to-face Trump-Kim meeting actually materialized down the line, it would certainly take over the headlines, at least temporarily.
Q: You said North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons, is your goal denuclearization?
Trump: I don't want to talk about that but I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un. I like him. I didn't like doing these exercises against North Korea pic.twitter.com/9q74leMwpZ
On Kim, Trump said this week: "The fact that I get along with him, that’s a good thing." He explained: "You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he’s going to be fine as long as we have a smart president."
Suddenly everyone gains immediate respect when they achieve nukes - even the 'rogue' actors - which is something Tehran has no doubt long observed.
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 10:15Walmart is tumbling after posting disappointing guidance while quarterly sales fell short of expectations, a rare miss for the world's largest bricks and mortar retailer, that is stoking concerns about the leading big-box retailer decelerating alongside a slow-growing US economy.
Comp store sales at US stores open at least a year, excluding fuel, rose 2.6% in the second quarter, far below the lowest analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
That growth rate, which reflected "125 bps headwind from pharmacy deflation and brand-to-generic transfers related to maximum fair price regulation", was the slowest in more than six years. Another interesting observation: WMT is seeing less of a hit from the lack of fatties, saying that "FY27 comps reflect ~50 bps tailwind from GLP-1, vs. ~100 bps in FY25 & FY26, as script growth was more than offset by price-mix headwinds."
Here are some other highlights from the fiscal second quarter:
The company's guidance was also messy for both Q3 and full year, both missing consensus estimates.
Third quarter forecast:
2027 full-year forecast
According to Bloomberg, the results signal it’s getting more challenging for the world’s largest retailer to maintain a faster growth rate as expectations from investors have risen. The earnings report also may spark anxiety about uneven economic signals and deteriorating consumer sentiment.
Federal drug price negotiations affected Walmart’s health and wellness (H&W) business more than expected, CFO John David Rainey said in an interview. While “transitory,” the issue is expected to persist into the next year, he said.
WalMart was quick to point out that wxcluding health and wellness, the company’s US comparable sales rose 3.4%, and noted that FY27 YTD total comp reflected a "net ~200 bps swing on average vs. the trailing two year pace due to Health and Wellness impacts noted above"...
... but the market didn't seem to care much and punished the company the most in almost 5 years.
Additionally, Walmart gained market share, including in grocery as it continued to lower prices of goods. As consumers face more pressure, Walmart has been “very intentional” with where it’s investing in price, Rainey said, pointing to beef as an example. Still, the retail environment remains competitive.
Shoppers have maintained spending at consistent levels in recent months despite ongoing concerns about inflation and geopolitical tensions. While many consumers are increasingly selective about their expenditures, they’re still on the lookout for good deals or unique products. At the same time, lower-income households have pulled back amid elevated gasoline prices. Consumer sentiment also dropped for the first time in three months in August, while the labor market is showing signs of weakness.
Consumer spending has been consistent as households remain resilient, according to Rainey.
“We certainly see that choices are made,” he said. “That’s indicative of some of the trade-offs that consumers are needing to make, and they’re looking for value and convenience.” Back-to-college season was “exceedingly strong,” and the return to school season is in its early days as some schools start later this year.
Additionally, recent foodborne illnesses have weighed on demand for some items like packaged lettuce and strawberries, though the company expects that to improve in the coming months, Rainey said.
Walmart, a longtime favorite of bargain-searching shoppers, has expanded its online offerings in recent years and succeeded in attracting wealthier shoppers prioritizing convenience. The company’s non-retail businesses, which span from advertising to its third-place marketplace, also have boosted profit growth. In the years after a pandemic-fueled boom in business, the retailer has invested across operations to spruce up its stores, assortment of products and digital services.
Under Chief Executive Officer John Furner, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer has sought to maintain its focus on value while making online deliveries faster and using artificial intelligence more effectively across operations.
Walmart shares had retreated in recent months, partly on concerns that the company’s US growth could decelerate. Comparable sales growth has now slowed for two straight quarters, and the retailer cautioned earlier this year that high fuel costs could squeeze earnings. Rivals including Target Corp. have seen sales pick up as its turnaround efforts gain traction. Kroger Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp. meanwhile are lowering food prices to grab more share.
Following the latest earnings, shares of Walmart, which until recently were idiotically trading at a 40x forward PE, crashed as much as 9% after the huge comp store sales miss, its biggest drop since July 2022 The stock had risen 2.6% this year through Wednesday’s close.
Walmart's full Q2 presentation is below (pdf link)
Earnings Presentation (FY27 Q2) by Zerohedge
Tyler Durden Thu, 08/20/2026 - 10:03