Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) has surged to $72,000 U.S. after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act that provides a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. 

Bitcoin is up 5% early on Aug. 20 and has risen from $64,000 U.S. over the past 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies are seeing even more dramatic gains. 

Ethereum (CRYPO: $ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency, gained 9% overnight and is trading at $2,288.91 U.S. 

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Solana (CRYPTO: $SOL), XRP (CRYPTO: $XRP), and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: $DOGE) are each up more than 6%. Cryptocurrencies trade around he clock: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

The big moves higher in digital assets come as Trump calls on Congress to pass the Clarity Act legislation into law, providing a detailed regulatory framework for digital assets. 

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are also moving higher after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an intervention in the bond market. 

Bessent said that the U.S. Treasury will double its bond repurchases moving forward, a step that has led yields on both long and short-dated Treasurys to decline. 

The declining Treasury yields have given a boost to risk assets such as cryptocurrencies. Bond yields spiked earlier this week, putting downward pressure on stocks and crypto. 

Also, Trump supported regulating Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: $HYPE), the decentralized exchange that's home to popular perpetual futures trading. 

Hyperliquid's token rose 25% after Trump's comments supporting the token and the perpetual futures exchange. 

Trump's renewed focus on cryptocurrencies comes after the U.S. president met with several executives of crypto firms at the White House on Aug. 19. 

Trump has a vested interest in crypto as he and his family have several ventures and businesses tied to the industry. 

By some estimates, Trump made $1.4 billion U.S. from cryptocurrency ventures during his first year back in office. 

While Bitcoin is surging on Aug. 20, it remains well below its high for this year of $94,820 U.S. achieved in mid-January, and its all-time high of $126,198 U.S. reached on Oct. 6, 2025.