The U.S. Treasury announced on August 19, 2026, that it will raise the maximum purchase amount for its long-end buyback operations from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation for 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year nominal coupon securities. The expanded limits take effect on September 9 and remain in place through November 4.
Treasury said the change reflects consistent market participation and a significant volume of high-quality offers in these operations. The buybacks are intended to support liquidity in off-the-run securities, not a new round of quantitative easing. The new figure is a ceiling, and Treasury will decide how much to buy in each operation.
Long-term Treasury yields fell after the announcement, improving risk appetite across financial markets. Lower yields reduce the income investors give up by holding non-yielding assets such as gold and can make higher-volatility assets like cryptocurrencies more attractive. Gold rose 3.4% on the day to $4,483 per ounce, while the broader crypto market also moved higher.
According to a CoinMarketCap snapshot, Bitcoin traded at $65,886.50 with a 1.4% one-hour gain and a 1.8% 24-hour gain. Ethereum rose 1.8% in one hour and 2.7% over 24 hours to $1,965. Solana gained 3% in one hour and 5.2% over 24 hours to $80.80, while Zcash rose 4.5% in one hour and 6.5% over 24 hours to $539. The CMC20 index added 1.02%, signaling the rally was broader than a single large-cap token.
Separately, market breadth across gold miners has improved rapidly. About 62% of stocks inside the VanEck Gold Miners ETF are now trading above their 200-day moving averages, the highest since May, and GDX gained 22% in three weeks. The Kobeissi Letter noted a similar expansion in March-April 2024 preceded a 52% GDX rally over the following 12 months, adding to the bullish precious metals backdrop. Gold has already moved from around $2,000 in 2024 to a record above $5,500 in early 2026 before pulling back to a $4,000 to $4,400 range.
Peter Schiff offered a more critical interpretation, arguing the Treasury is stepping in because private investors do not want to hold more long-term debt. He expects the financing burden to ultimately require Federal Reserve money creation and fuel inflation, pointing to gold’s rise as evidence. The next test will be the actual buyback operations after September 9, including accepted amounts, long-end yield behavior, and whether crypto and gold continue to follow through.
