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Photo by Milan Jaros/BloombergBitcoin is on course for its best week in more than three years while gold is heading for its biggest monthly gain this century, amid investor fears that United States Treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s intervention in the bond market will continue to weigh on the dollar.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe price of bitcoin jumped nearly seven per cent on Friday and is up 23 per cent this week to around US$77,380, the cryptocurrency’s highest level since May. Gold gained 1.5 per cent on Friday to about US$4,585 a troy ounce and is up more than 13 per cent in August, putting it on track for its biggest monthly gain since 1999.Traders said both assets were rallying following the U.S. Treasury’s announcement on Wednesday that it would “at least double” its purchases of long-term government debt, a move that has slightly pushed down the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds but has also weakened the dollar amid concerns over the greenback’s purchasing power.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBessent’s move has “resulted in a strong boost to debasement-trade assets, particularly gold and bitcoin”, said one commodities trader.The U.S. dollar fell sharply after Wednesday’s announcement and is now down around 1 per cent against a basket of currencies since Tuesday.Mohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies, said gold and cryptocurrencies had experienced a “massive performance” since Bessent’s announcement. “[This] supports the weaker dollar view,” he said.The debasement trade — in which traders buy assets they expect will protect them from a weakening of the dollar and other fiat currencies — took a significant hit after the U.S. launched its war on Iran earlier this year, triggering a rise in inflation that pushed up short-term U.S. Treasury yields, helping to strengthen the dollar.“Everyone liked debasement — the Iran war threw a spanner in the works but now we’re back to the debasement theme,” the trader said.The person added that the market had been “gifted a perfect storm” for a return to the debasement trade through a lowering of expectations for interest rate rises “combined with Bessent’s announcement”.“Being erratic and unpredictable generally translates into higher premiums, which partly explains why the dollar is depreciating,” said Eoin Walsh, portfolio manager at TwentyFour Asset Management.However, Chris Turner, head of global markets research at ING, said Bessent’s intervention should be seen as an attempt to stabilize the bond market and address the risk of a sell-off in longer-dated U.S. debt.“Some commentators are suggesting that [the weaker dollar demonstrates] a loss of credibility in U.S. policymaking,” he said. “But I think… what we’re seeing is the U.S. Treasury secretary taking a strong interest in the long end of the Treasury market.”Other crypto tokens such as ether, solana and XRP have also rallied, up around 26, 22 and 37 per cent respectively over the past week. Crypto prices had previously been in a prolonged downturn since last autumn, with the price of bitcoin down 31 per cent over the past year.“It’s momentum begetting momentum,” said Axel Rudolph, chief technical analyst at trading platform IG. “After months of fragile sentiment, the speed and scale of the rebound show just how quickly crypto can turn when liquidity improves and investors rush to chase the move.”Shares in digital asset groups have also jumped this week. Digital exchange Coinbase is up 16 per cent, stablecoin company Circle’s shares have climbed 17 per cent and bitcoin hoarder Strategy’s stock has risen 21 per cent.The sudden move higher in bitcoin’s price led to a short squeeze, analysts said, as traders betting against the cryptocurrency closed their positions. A meeting this week between President Donald Trump and the heads of the top U.S. regulatory agencies and crypto companies was also seen as good news for the industry, which has faced months of stalled debates over a crucial digital assets market structure law.The Clarity Act, a landmark piece of legislation that would oversee the crypto market and make Wall Street institutions more comfortable holding and trading tokens, has been stalled in the Senate as Democrats push for ethics provisions that would prevent government officials from profiting from the industry.Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission also released its own proposals to regulate crypto this week in a step welcomed by the industry.“Hard not to be extremely bullish both [on bitcoin] and crypto right now,” said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Bitwise.© 2026 The Financial Times Ltd Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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