Bitcoin experienced a volatile session in U.S. trading hours, briefly dropping under $83,000 before finding support near $84,500. The movement coincided with a sharp increase in U.S. government bond yields, as the 10-year Treasury rate climbed to 5.18%, the strongest level since July 2007, while the 30-year benchmark reached 5.46%, echoing peaks from 2004. The surge followed a scheduled Treasury buy-back of up to $6 billion in long-dated bonds, an effort to improve liquidity in that segment of the market.

International bond markets also showed signs of stress, and the Japanese yen weakened to around 159 per dollar, edging toward a range where authorities typically intervene. Analysts noted that any yen-supportive intervention, which often involves selling U.S. securities, could add further upward pressure on Treasury yields.

Higher yields generally make fixed-income assets more attractive, creating headwinds for cryptocurrencies that do not generate income. Despite this, Bitcoin continued its August rally, defying bearish narratives linked to its four-year price cycle.

Ondo Finance’s resurgence

Among the day’s top-performing altcoins, the tokenized real-world-asset (RWA) token ONDO reclaimed the psychologically important $0.50 level, a price not seen since December 2025. The rebound followed the launch of Ondo Intelligent Portfolios, a suite of BlackRock-backed investment products now live on both Ethereum and BNB Chain. Settlement for these tokens is handled through the CoW Protocol, and the initial three offerings mirror BlackRock’s model strategies: a high-income portfolio, a diversified growth portfolio, and a high-growth portfolio.

The token’s performance stands out even as the CLARITY Act failed to advance in the U.S. Senate, underscoring the market’s appetite for diversified, tokenized exposure to traditional assets.

Why it matters

The simultaneous stabilization of Bitcoin and the rise of a BlackRock-linked RWA token illustrate a broader shift in crypto markets: investors are weighing traditional macro-economic signals, such as Treasury yields and currency pressures, while also seeking novel ways to bridge conventional finance and decentralized platforms. The resurgence of Bitcoin at higher yield levels suggests resilience, whereas Ondo’s token recovery highlights growing confidence in tokenized portfolio products backed by established asset managers. Together, these dynamics may shape capital flows between legacy markets and the crypto ecosystem in the months ahead.