US Treasury yields hit a 19-year high on Thursday, pressuring risk assets as Bitcoin held near $84,000 and ONDO became top performer among altcoins.
Bitcoin (BTC) had a volatile Thursday during US hours as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note climbed to its highest level in nearly two decades. After briefly falling below $83,000, BTC struggled to reclaim $84,500. Ondo Finance (ONDO), meanwhile, was among the top-performing altcoins.
The US 10-year Treasury yield rose more than 4 basis points to 5.18% on Thursday, its highest level since July 2007, according to TradingView data. The 30-year yield hit 5.46%, reclaiming 2004 highs.
The climb came on the day the US Treasury was scheduled to buy back up to $6 billion in bonds maturing in roughly 20 to 30 years, part of an expanded program aimed at improving liquidity in long-dated debt markets.
International bond markets also weakened, while the Japanese yen (JPY) came under renewed pressure. Mohamed A. El-Erian, president of Queen’s College Cambridge, wrote on X: “Flying under many radars for now, but probably not for long: The Japanese Yen has weakened back to 159 per U.S. dollar (CNBC chart), approaching the established FX intervention zone.”
He continued: “This matters far beyond Japan for a key reason right now: Japanese foreign exchange intervention typically involves selling US securities to buy Yen, potentially adding yield pressures to an already sensitive Treasury market.”
Higher yields make government bonds more attractive and can weigh on non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin. Even so, BTC has extended its August rally, challenging bearish predictions tied to Bitcoin’s traditional four-year cycle.
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