SKN | How Treasury’s Bond Buyback Decision Helped Bitcoin Outpace Gold by 10-to-1

Key Points:

• Bitcoin gained 42.71% in Q3 2026, compared with a historical average third-quarter return of 8.67%, according to CoinGlass.
• Gold gained approximately 4% during the quarter, leaving Bitcoin’s return more than 10 times larger over the same period.
• The U.S. Treasury’s decision to at least double long-term bond buybacks was one of two Aug. 20 developments cited by TheStreet as major catalysts for Bitcoin’s subsequent rally.

Bitcoin delivered an exceptional third-quarter performance in 2026, gaining 42.71% as liquidity expectations, institutional demand and crypto-specific developments reshaped market positioning. A key catalyst identified in the supplied Yahoo Finance report was the U.S. Treasury’s decision to at least double its longer-term bond buyback operations, a move that coincided with Bitcoin’s sharp advance from around $65,000 toward $75,000 and eventually above $87,000.

Treasury Expands Long-Term Bond Buybacks

On Aug. 19, the U.S. Treasury announced that it would increase, by at least double, the maximum size of liquidity-support buybacks for nominal securities in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors. The maximum purchase amount rose from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, effective Sept. 9 through the remainder of the refunding quarter ending Nov. 4. Treasury said the change was intended to provide greater liquidity support to longer-dated sectors where it was receiving strong market participation.

The announcement matters for crypto because bond-market liquidity can influence broader financial conditions. The Treasury action did not directly allocate capital to Bitcoin, but the market response demonstrated how changes in expectations around liquidity and long-term yields can affect a highly sensitive risk asset.

Bitcoin’s 42.71% Quarter Stands Out

According to CoinGlass data cited by the source, Bitcoin gained 7.36% in July, 24.95% in August and 6.33% in September. The combined quarterly return reached 42.71%, compared with a historical Q3 average of 8.67%. CoinGlass’s historical performance data provides the underlying quarterly and monthly return series.

The rally was significant because Bitcoin entered the period after a difficult first half. Other market reporting based on CoinGlass data shows BTC had fallen 22.2% in Q1 and 14.09% in Q2, meaning the third-quarter advance represented a substantial reversal in market direction rather than a continuation of uninterrupted gains.

Gold Delivered a Much Smaller Return

Gold gained approximately 4% in Q3, according to the source, as higher Treasury yields, a hawkish Federal Reserve backdrop and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on demand for the traditional hedge asset. Against Bitcoin’s 42.71% return, the difference amounted to more than a 10-to-1 performance gap.

The comparison is important because both assets are sometimes treated as alternatives to traditional financial assets, but their market structures are very different. Bitcoin remains substantially more sensitive to liquidity, leverage and institutional flows, while gold is influenced by real yields, central-bank demand, currency movements and its established role in defensive portfolios.

Crypto-Specific Catalysts Added to the Macro Shift

The Treasury announcement was not the only development identified by the source. On Aug. 20, President Donald Trump reiterated his stated objective of making the United States a home for the crypto industry, while regulatory developments also supported sentiment. TheStreet reported that Citi viewed the failure of the Senate’s CLARITY Act vote as narrowing the legislative path but said subsequent SEC announcements had helped dampen negative sentiment.

Ethereum extended the rally even further, gaining 70.8% in Q3, with positive returns in July, August and September. That performance shows that the quarter’s repricing was not limited to Bitcoin, although the drivers and liquidity characteristics differed across assets.

As the fourth quarter begins, the key question is whether the liquidity conditions that supported Q3 can persist. Treasury buybacks are scheduled to remain at the increased size through Nov. 4, while bond yields, Federal Reserve policy, ETF flows and regulatory developments will continue shaping crypto market conditions. Bitcoin’s 42.71% quarterly gain demonstrates how strongly crypto can respond to shifts in liquidity expectations, but it does not establish that the same relationship will persist as macro conditions evolve.