Trading Desk - August 20th 2026

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  August 20, 2026 at 20:13  |  20:09  |  Macro Voices
Speakers
Patrick Ceresna — Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices
Michelle Begnan — Co-host, MacroVoices Trading Desk

Summary

Patrick Ceresna and Michelle Begnine analyze recent market interventions by the US Treasury and their ripple effects across asset classes. They discuss how the Treasury's debt-buying program has forced bond short-covering and triggered a breakdown in the US dollar, creating bullish tailwinds for gold and other commodities. The hosts also highlight specific trading setups in Bitcoin, sugar, and the lagging semiconductor sector ahead of Nvidia's earnings.

  • The US Treasury's increased debt buying is acting as an operation twist, forcing bond shorts to cover and capping long-end yields.
  • A deep-in-the-money call option on IBIT is presented as a capital-efficient way to gain Bitcoin exposure.
  • The US dollar's prior bull market has been neutralized by government interventions, opening the door for yen strength.
  • Gold is attempting a legitimate breakout from a six-month correction, supported by a weaker dollar and lower yields.
  • Sugar faces a bullish supply-demand shock as Brazil diverts sugarcane to ethanol and India potentially becomes a net importer.
  • Semiconductor performance and broader market direction hinge heavily on Nvidia's upcoming earnings report.
Ideas
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 0:06
Buy IBIT calls for efficient Bitcoin exposure.
Fiscal dominance and financial repression benefit scarce assets like Bitcoin. Using a deep-in-the-money Jan 2027 $32 call option on IBIT provides a capital-efficient, defined-risk way to get high-delta Bitcoin exposure with positive convexity.
Michelle Begnan Co-host, MacroVoices Trading Desk 2:36
Treasury debt buying forces bond short covering.
Big funds are heavily positioned short on 10-year and 30-year bonds at a multi-year extreme. The US Treasury's decision to double its debt buying program will force these short sellers to buy back their positions, strengthening the bond price rebound.
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 3:16
Treasury intervention aims to cap bond yields.
The Treasury is effectively executing an operation twist by buying longer-dated bonds and issuing short-term bonds to manage excess supply and cap yields. Watching to see if this intervention successfully stabilizes the 30-year Treasury yield around 5.30%.
Michelle Begnan Co-host, MacroVoices Trading Desk 5:28
Big money hedges against the NASDAQ rally.
Large trend-following funds are holding their lowest positioning score in five years on the NASDAQ, indicating they do not fully trust the ongoing rally and are hedging their exposure.
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 6:00
Buy the dip on S&P 500 pullbacks.
The S&P 500 is taking a breather after an August burst higher, but remains in a bullish trend with support around 7600. Giving bulls the benefit of the doubt that buy-on-dip traders will maintain the upper trend unless it breaks below 7500.
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 6:44
Semiconductor direction hinges on upcoming Nvidia earnings.
Semiconductors have lagged since Q2 and failed to participate in the recent upside. The sector's direction now hinges entirely on Nvidia's upcoming earnings, which will determine if semis can catch up or if they will act as a wet blanket on the broader market.
Michelle Begnan Co-host, MacroVoices Trading Desk 9:25
Intervention forces unwinding of long dollar bets.
Large speculators are crowded into long dollar positions across major cross currencies. Recent US government interventions in the yen and bond markets mean big money will likely unwind these longs, creating room for further dollar weakness.
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 10:14
Dollar bull market neutralized; watching yen strength.
Treasury interventions have triggered US dollar selling that broke key support lines and neutralized the prior bull market. Watching USD/JPY closely to see if a meaningful new trend of dollar weakness and yen strength resumes.
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 12:38
Buy gold dips targeting return to highs.
Gold has made a legitimate attempt to break out of a six-month correction, supported by bullish tailwinds from a breaking US dollar and interest rate interventions. Buying dips on $150 retracements to target a return to April highs near 4800.
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 13:54
Tight supply and geopolitics support higher oil.
Crude oil has recovered without large funds aggressively chasing it, leaving speculative positioning at the 19th percentile. This supports a rangebound story but also leaves plenty of sidelined capital to fuel a breakout if prices climb higher.
Patrick Ceresna Derivatives Specialist, MacroVoices 15:48
Uranium stocks show signs of new accumulation.
The mining space is seeing a pivot in flows, with uranium and the URA ETF starting to participate and showing signs of new accumulation after a challenging three-month correction.
Michelle Begnan Co-host, MacroVoices Trading Desk 16:43
Ethanol demand and Indian imports squeeze sugar.
Higher energy prices are incentivizing Brazilian mills to divert sugarcane to ethanol, while India may become a net importer. This double whammy to supply and demand, combined with large speculators just starting to turn bullish, could drive sugar prices much higher.
Up Next

This Macro Voices video, published August 20, 2026, features Patrick Ceresna, Michelle Begnan discussing IBIT, BTC, US30Y, US10Y, TLT, QQQ, SPY, NVDA, SMH, USD, USD/JPY, GLD, WTI, URA, CANE. 12 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Patrick Ceresna, Michelle Begnan  · Tickers: IBIT, BTC, US30Y, US10Y, TLT, QQQ, SPY, NVDA, SMH, USD, USD/JPY, GLD, WTI, URA, CANE