US federal debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time. In the first 10 months of fiscal 2026, federal interest costs overtook Medicare to become the government's second-largest budget expense behind Social Security, according to Reuters.
The milestone came as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department would at least double buybacks of 10- to 30-year Treasury debt to a minimum of $4 billion per operation starting Sept. 9. The announcement initially pushed long-term Treasury yields and the US dollar lower as bitcoin and gold rose.
Bitcoin traded around $72,600 on Thursday, Aug. 20, up roughly 6% over 24 hours and 15% over the week, according to CoinGecko. By Aug. 21 bitcoin was near $77,000.
Analysts framed the debt milestone as strengthening bitcoin's case as a scarce non-sovereign asset. Near-term drivers cited were Treasury yields, dollar strength and liquidity conditions.
US Treasury; Reuters; Cointelegraph; CoinGecko