The US government is now paying more to borrow money than at any point since the pre-financial-crisis era, and the consequences are cascading through every asset class, crypto included.
Thirty-year Treasury yields have blown past 5.18%, a threshold not crossed since 2007. The 10-year note climbed to roughly 4.6-4.7%, its highest level in over a year.
What’s driving the sell-off
The catalyst cocktail is potent: the ongoing war in Iran has sent oil prices soaring, US producer prices jumped 6.5% year-over-year in May 2026, the highest rate since late 2022, and the federal government is sitting on approximately $39 trillion in total debt. Annual interest payments alone are now approaching $1 trillion.
Bank of America analysts called US fiscal policy the “elephant in the room.” Higher yields mean the government pays more to service its existing debt, which increases the deficit, which means more borrowing, which means more bonds on the market, which pushes yields even higher.
