Bitcoin approached the $72,000 threshold, reaching a session high of $71,992 on Bitstamp. The upward momentum pushed bitcoin's market capitalization to $1.44 trillion and marked an 11.3% gain over a 24-hour period. The broader market rally was driven by a U.S. Treasury announcement and favorable remarks from President Donald Trump during an August 19 meeting with crypto industry CEOs.
Altcoins kept pace with bitcoin's movement, with Ethereum surging 19% to top out just under $2,320. Other major tokens, including XRP, SOL, DOGE, and Zcash, also recorded double-digit gains. Chainlink's LINK token rose to $10.86, bringing daily gains to approximately 9%, following an address by co-founder Sergey Nazarov and an announcement regarding Wyoming's switch to Chainlink's CCIP.
The sharp price increases heavily impacted derivatives traders. According to Coinglass data, total market liquidations reached $3.35 billion, with liquidated short positions accounting for $3.07 billion of that total. Liquidated short bets on bitcoin alone neared $1.7 billion.
During the White House meeting, which included technology leaders, financial regulators, and crypto executives, President Trump urged the U.S. Senate to pass the CLARITY Act to establish legal rules for digital assets. The event also featured discussion surrounding specific protocols, including the decentralized trading platform Hyperliquid, which saw its token approach $74 following remarks about bringing the platform on-shore.
