The cryptocurrency market abruptly broke out of a prolonged period of subdued trading on August 19, with Bitcoin rising from below $65,000 to nearly $80,000 before retreating. The rally lifted the total crypto market capitalization by around $500 billion within a day and a half, while several assets reached new local peaks and HYPE reached an all-time high. The Kobeissi Letter said the market had been effectively frozen for 110 consecutive days between May 1 and August 19, although Bitcoin had still risen above $80,000 in May before falling below $58,000 on July 1. The move began around 8:30 AM ET on August 19 and was followed within a day by what analysts described as the seventh-largest liquidation event on record. The rally coincided with Trump’s Crypto Summit in the White House, the Treasury Department’s increased purchases of longer-dated government debt and $2.6 billion of inflows into spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Analysts said Treasury yields later reversed their initial decline while crypto prices remained higher, indicating that leverage and speculation were also important drivers. Traders subsequently rebuilt leveraged long positions, contributing to a flash crash on Saturday that liquidated roughly $500 million in late longs within minutes as Bitcoin fell $2,000 and Ethereum dropped 5%. About $110 billion was erased from the total crypto market capitalization in 20 minutes at 12:30 AM ET, highlighting the market’s vulnerability to liquidation cascades after the initial breakout forced bearish positions to close and attracted fear-of-missing-out buying.