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Bitcoin Recovery: This Massive $500 Billion Investment Could Send Price Above $50,000

Previous speculation has resurfaced regarding one of the largest potential Bitcoin buy-ins in the history of cryptocurrency. According to crypto analyst Justin Verrengia, there are indications that Saudi Arabia and Qatar may be gearing up for an enormous Bitcoin purchase, with an official announcement anticipated in the coming week. 

Saudi Arabia, Qatar Rumored To Purchase 1 Million BTC

In a recent video published on X (formerly Twitter), Verrengia, the host of the popular crypto channel Crypto News Alert spoke on the recent rumors sparked by crypto analyst Mark Keiser regarding a potential large-scale Bitcoin purchase by Middle Eastern country Saudi Arabia and sovereign state Qatar. 

The crypto analyst disclosed that both governments are potentially considering purchasing about 1 million Bitcoins valued at around $500 billion. Verrengia compared the large-scale buy-in with the 1.1 million BTC held in the wallet address owned by pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. He hinted that Saudi Arabia and Qatar may be planning to purchase this staggering sum of Bitcoin using their sovereign wealth funds. 

In his video, Verrengia showcased several X posts from Bitcoin maximalist, Mark Keiser, who has been spreading speculations about the possibility of a large-scale Bitcoin purchase by Saudi Arabia and Qatar since 2023. 

Keiser suggested in his posts that the potential 1 million BTC investment by these two governments could make asset management company BlackRock and crypto intelligence company Microstrategy “look like peanuts” in comparison. 

The crypto analyst also disclosed that Saudi Arabia may be expanding its interest toward digital currencies. This shift can be seen in the recent partnership between the largest oil company in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco, and Japanese financial service, SBI Holdings. Verrengia has heralded this movement as “oil money entering Bitcoin.” 

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com

Bitcoin Price Sees Potential Rise Above $50,000

In his video, Verrengia also shared a post by Keiser, who predicted a $100,000 god candle if Saudi Arabia and Qatar purchase the 1 million BTC. A god candle here suggests a unique price pattern where the price of Bitcoin shoots upward by 100%, pushing it to new all-time highs. 

Presently, the price of Bitcoin is trading around $38,966.81, reflecting a 9.01% decrease in the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap. A purchase of 1 million BTC would represent a substantial chunk of the total BTC supply, effectively attracting the attention of institutional investors. This could potentially trigger a Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), driving demand for Bitcoin through the roof and sending Bitcoin’s price above $50,000. 

In 2023, the hype surrounding the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs pushed Bitcoin’s price to a record high above $49,000. A similar result to the coveted $50,000 price mark could be attained if Saudi Arabia and Qatar purchase the rumored 1 million BTC.

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Bitcoin Accumulation: USDT Issuer Tether Goes On Massive 8,888 BTC Buying Spree

In an encouraging development for the crypto space, Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has doubled down on its Bitcoin investment momentum by acquiring a staggering 8,888 BTC, further diversifying its portfolio. 

Tether Increases Its Bitcoin Holdings

Tether has recently made its third largest Bitcoin purchase, as the stablecoin issuer added a total of 8,888 BTC valued at $380 million at the time of purchase. This brings its total BTC holdings to 66,465 BTC, valued at $2.81 billion with an average buy price of $42,353. 

This transaction was captured by BitInfoCharts data, which also showed the previous amounts of BTC accumulated by the blockchain-enabled platform. This recent purchase follows Tether’s Bitcoin investment strategy, in line with its vision to continuously strengthen its reserves by accumulating Bitcoin.

Earlier in May 2023, the stablecoin issuer announced in a blog post that it would regularly allocate 15% of its net realized operating profits toward increasing its BTC reserves. As of the end of March 2023, Tether held approximately $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency, a $1.3 billion difference from its total BTC holdings presently. 

According to reports from Dune Analytics, Tether has become the 11th largest Bitcoin holder, with Microstrategy, an American business intelligence service, surpassing Tether’s holdings with over 189,00 BTC accumulated. The other addresses in the top 10 rankings are owned by major crypto exchanges and governments, including Binance, Bitfinex and the US government. 

Tether’s decision to double down on its Bitcoin investments signals its confidence in the cryptocurrency’s future trajectory. It also underscores the blockchain platform’s belief in the long-term potential of BTC as it aims to capitalize on Bitcoin’s potential growth by bolstering and diversifying its digital asset reserve.  

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com (Tether USDT)

BTC Accumulation Race Amidst ETF Hype

Tether’s strategic Bitcoin purchase comes at a time when the crypto market is buzzing with excitement over Spot Bitcoin ETFs. Before the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs, Tether had steadily increased its BTC portfolio, purchasing substantial quantities of BTC consistently. In March 2023, the stablecoin issuer bought 15,915 BTC and another 4,083 BTC between the months of May and September.

The timing of Tether’s BTC purchase suggests a proactive stance towards potentially seizing the opportunities brought forth by the Spot Bitcoin ETF market and the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April.

In addition to Tether’s large-scale BTC acquisition, Microstrategy is also another major player which has been continually increasing its BTC holdings. The business intelligence software company added a whopping 14,620 BTC to its portfolio in December 2023. At the time, the value of the purchase was about $615.7 million. 

Other companies with large BTC holdings include Galaxy Digital and Elon Musk’s Tesla, as well as space exploration company SpaceX.

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Tether Strikes Gold In Bitcoin: Profits Soar Above $1 Billion Amid Bull Market

Tether, known for its USDT stablecoin, has recently made headlines with its Bitcoin holdings soaring in value, generating a profit exceeding $1 billion.

Notably, this significant financial gain can be attributed to the stablecoin issuer’s approach of buying Bitcoin using a portion of its net profits. This move has proven highly lucrative amid the recent surge in BTC prices.

According to reporter Wu Blockchain, Tether’s holdings currently stand at 57,576 BTC, valued at an estimated $2.4 billion. These holdings were acquired at an average rate of $22,480 per BTC, reflecting a savvy investment strategy in the volatile crypto market.

The recent surge in Bitcoin’s value, which has surpassed the $41,000 mark, has been a major contributor to Tether’s significant profit margin, showcasing the potential of strategic crypto investments.

BTC Accumulation And Market Impact

The notable profit realized by Tether is the result of its investment strategy implemented in May 2023. The company began allocating up to 15% of its net realized operating profits towards Bitcoin purchases.

This strategic decision has not only diversified Tether’s investment portfolio but also aligned the company with Bitcoin’s potential as a “transformative” technology, according to Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino.

Paolo Ardoino noted that the choice to invest in Bitcoin was based on its decentralized nature, limited supply, and growing global adoption. Ardoino emphasized Bitcoin’s “resilience” as a “long-term store of value” and its potential to reshape business and lifestyle paradigms.

The Tether CTO stated:

Our investment in Bitcoin is not only a way to enhance the performance of our portfolio, but it is also a method of aligning ourselves with a transformative technology that has the potential to reshape the way we conduct business and live our lives.

As of the first quarter of 2023, Tether’s BTC reserves were valued at around $1.5 billion, a testament to the success of its Bitcoin accumulation strategy.

Bitcoin Rains Profits

The ongoing bull run in the crypto market has benefitted Tether and other prominent Bitcoin proponents. Max Keiser, a well-known trader and BTC supporter in the crypto community, recently revealed a significant surge in his Bitcoin holdings on X.

Keiser, who has been investing in Bitcoin since 2011, recognized the potential of BTC early on. While Keiser has not publicly disclosed the exact amount of BTC he owns, it’s clear that his early investment has paid off handsomely over the years.

Bitcoin (BTC) price chart on TradingView

Featured image from iStock, Chart from TradingView

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Bitcoin 65% Crash Possible? $54 Million In Buy Orders Pile Up At $12,000

Bitcoin is still trending at a reasonably high price, especially after falling below $15,000 in 2022 following the FTX collapse. Given its rise since then, investors have turned bullish, expecting the start of another bull market. However, not all investors have bought into this bullish narrative for Bitcoin and this is evidenced by the amount of buy orders sitting at prices more than 65% below its current value.

4,500 BTC Bids At $12,000

In an interesting turn of events, a developer has revealed a massive buy wall waiting in the expectation that the Bitcoin price will crash further. One X (formerly Twitter) user who goes by @tedstalksmacro took to the social media platform to reveal the massive buy wall.

According to the post, there were 4,500 BTC bids waiting at around 65% below the current price of Bitcoin. These Bitcoin bids came out to a total of $54 million, going by the asset’s price at the time, and made up the largest buy wall at any price point for the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin $12,000

These 4,500 BTC bids at the $12,000 mark suggest that these Bitcoin investors expect the price to keep falling. Now, if the Bitcoin price were to return to this level, it would mean an approximately 68% drop from the tight range of $37,500 to $38,000 that the price has been trading at.

Another X user pointed out that the buy wall did not recently appear. Rather, the 4,500 BTC bids have been standing for more than a year.

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com

Why Investors Are Expecting Bitcoin To Fall

In response to Ted’s post, another X user, Luke Broyles, took to the platform to explain why there are so many bids for Bitcoin at $12,000. According to Broyles, the bids are a result of a “big unit bias level” that investors developed during the FTX crash.

When the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and the Bitcoin price dropped to $15,000, the calls for a decline to $12,000 had intensified. But of course, that never happened. However, not all investors have let go of the belief that this could still happen.

Broyles explains that “many people have either $10k or $25k saved up which would’ve made a nice comfy amount of coins at $12k.” Further adding that “Buying 2 coins at $12k sounded better than buying 1.5 in low teens.”

The crypto enthusiast posits that the market has already moved beyond this level, although some people have yet to accept it. “Lots of people still waiting for $12k… still yet to accept market has been reversing for over a year now,” Broyles concludes.

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Bitcoin 65% Crash Possible? $54 Million In Buy Orders Pile Up At $12,000

Bitcoin is still trending at a reasonably high price, especially after falling below $15,000 in 2022 following the FTX collapse. Given its rise since then, investors have turned bullish, expecting the start of another bull market. However, not all investors have bought into this bullish narrative for Bitcoin and this is evidenced by the amount of buy orders sitting at prices more than 65% below its current value.

4,500 BTC Bids At $12,000

In an interesting turn of events, a developer has revealed a massive buy wall waiting in the expectation that the Bitcoin price will crash further. One X (formerly Twitter) user who goes by @tedstalksmacro took to the social media platform to reveal the massive buy wall.

According to the post, there were 4,500 BTC bids waiting at around 65% below the current price of Bitcoin. These Bitcoin bids came out to a total of $54 million, going by the asset’s price at the time, and made up the largest buy wall at any price point for the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin $12,000

These 4,500 BTC bids at the $12,000 mark suggest that these Bitcoin investors expect the price to keep falling. Now, if the Bitcoin price were to return to this level, it would mean an approximately 68% drop from the tight range of $37,500 to $38,000 that the price has been trading at.

Another X user pointed out that the buy wall did not recently appear. Rather, the 4,500 BTC bids have been standing for more than a year.

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com

Why Investors Are Expecting Bitcoin To Fall

In response to Ted’s post, another X user, Luke Broyles, took to the platform to explain why there are so many bids for Bitcoin at $12,000. According to Broyles, the bids are a result of a “big unit bias level” that investors developed during the FTX crash.

When the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and the Bitcoin price dropped to $15,000, the calls for a decline to $12,000 had intensified. But of course, that never happened. However, not all investors have let go of the belief that this could still happen.

Broyles explains that “many people have either $10k or $25k saved up which would’ve made a nice comfy amount of coins at $12k.” Further adding that “Buying 2 coins at $12k sounded better than buying 1.5 in low teens.”

The crypto enthusiast posits that the market has already moved beyond this level, although some people have yet to accept it. “Lots of people still waiting for $12k… still yet to accept market has been reversing for over a year now,” Broyles concludes.

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Bitcoin Investment Strategy: Analyst Sets Hefty Exit Price

A crypto YouTuber has revealed his Bitcoin exit plans to the public, stating that he would only withdraw from the cryptocurrency once BTC reaches a staggering $142,000. 

It is important to note that Bitcoin is presently trading below the $30,000 mark. Hence the popular YouTuber may have to wait a few years before leaving the market for good. 

Crypto YouTuber Sets Price For Bitcoin Exit

A crypto investor and YouTuber, ‘InvestAnswers’ recently published a YouTube video that featured a question-and-answer session with his subscribers. In the video, the YouTuber discussed various topics including AI, Meta, Google, and others. 

Focusing on crypto, he described his Bitcoin exit plan in detail, stating his desire to leave the cryptocurrency once it has attained a hefty market value of $142,000. The digital asset investor explained that he had high hopes for BTC’s price and was expecting the cryptocurrency to reach a price value of at least $89,000.

Currently, the price of Bitcoin is approximately $27,693, miles below the price cap InvestAnswers has set for an exit. The cryptocurrency has also experienced a significant amount of losses this year due to unfavorable market conditions and volatility. Bitcoin also had a minor price slip-up last week, declining to about $27,500 after reports revealed a significant inflow of BTC in Kraken. 

According to reports, Bitcoin’s September performance this year has been one of the strongest since 2012. InvestAnswers has stated a few of the market metrics and developments including Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF have influenced the recent positive trend in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com (Bitcoin investment strategy exit price)

Analysts Relay Positive Outlook On BTC’s Price

With the Bitcoin spot ETF potentially launching in the crypto space and other major innovative crypto developments advancing the ecosystems, many investors believe that BTC is on the verge of a bull run. Several analysts have made compelling predictions for the price of BTC in the last few months, stating that the cryptocurrency could enter a bullish position once it pushes past the $30,000 mark. 

These predictions match up with InvestAnswers’ hopes for Bitcoin’s price rise to fuel his exit plans. The crypto investor has stated plans to sell out his equity to invest in several cryptocurrencies. 

BitMex founder and former CEO Arthur Hayes is one of those who remain convinced the Bitcoin price is headed for a six-figure price. Hayes believes that the price of BTC will reach $70,000 before the end of 2024. Going further, the crypto millionaire believes the cryptocurrency will rise as high as $1 million in 2026.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $28,010 after struggling to hold support at $28,000. Nevertheless, the asset continues to hold 5% gains on the weekly chart.

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MicroStrategy Bought Bitcoin To Avoid Liquidation, Peter Schiff Reveals

Bitcoin detractor and economist Peter Schiff has taken another swipe at the digital asset and MicroStrategy, a public company that is heavily invested in the digital asset. Schiff has always been vocal about his disdain for bitcoin and has now turned his attention to MicroStrategy and its former CEO, Michael Saylor.

Why MicroStrategy Bought Bitcoin

In a tweet, Peter Schiff revealed to his more than 890,000 Twitter followers what he says was the real reason behind Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy’s move to begin investing in bitcoin. According to Schiff, former CEO Michael Saylor had admitted that buying BTC was actually a last-ditch effort to save the company from being liquidated. He further dissed the company saying that it has nothing going for it other than a leveraged speculative position on the digital asset.

As expected, Schiff’s strikes toward bitcoin were met with pushback from supporters. One user took to the comment section to defend MicroStrategy’s decision as one that was taken so it could acquire the “scarcest and most desirable asset the world has ever seen.” However, Schiff would denounce this saying that bitcoin was in no way scarce nor was it desirable. He also added that bitcoin was a way to lose money.

Schiff continues to advocate for gold as a better option for investors. Bitcoin maximalist Dan Held hit back at the economist saying, “[Gold] is hardly scare and in no way desirable. If you want to lose your money there are plenty of ways to do it. You don’t need to buy [Gold].”

Bitcoin price chart from TradingView.com

So Why Did Saylor Buy BTC?

Michael Saylor is arguably one of the most vocal bitcoin bulls. The ex-CEO of MicroStrategy has previously stated that his decision to purchase bitcoin was that he believed that the digital asset is the future of finance. Additionally, Saylor previously revealed that he had personally owned BTC before MicroStrategy had begun purchasing the cryptocurrency, his own personal holdings serving as evidence for the profitability of the asset.

As the company expects the price of bitcoin to appreciate over time, it believes that it will serve as an effective inflation hedge over the long term. Saylor himself has referred to BTC as “digital gold, saying “We find the global acceptance, brand recognition, ecosystem vitality, network dominance, architectural resilience, technical utility, and community ethos of Bitcoin to be persuasive evidence of its superiority as an asset class for those seeking a long-term store of value.”

MicroStrategy’s decision to invest in bitcoin also helped boost the popularity of the company, going from a company operating in the background to one of the most popular names among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

MicroStrategy is currently the public company with the largest BTC holdings in the world. The company held 130,000 BTC as of Sep. 30, 2022, worth over $2.1 billion at current market prices. At a cumulative entry value of almost $4 billion, the company is recording more than $1.7 billion in unrealized losses following the market downturn.

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El Salvador President Says Country Will Buy 1 Bitcoin A Day

Since the bitcoin price decline began, El Salvador and its president Nayib Bukele have basically been put under a microscope. The country’s bitcoin plan had seen it buy more than 2,300 BTC but the bear market had wiped a significant portion of the value from their holdings. Nevertheless, Bukele has not backed down on his stance that bitcoin would be good for the country’s future and said El Salvador will continue to buy bitcoin.

1 Bitcoin A Day

Despite more than $60 million in value being wiped off the El Salvador bitcoin holdings, Nayib Bukele says the country is going to continue buying BTC. In a recent tweet, the president explained that there is a new strategy for accumulating bitcoin for the country.

According to him, El Salvador is going to start buying 1 bitcoin a day. As for when this will begin, the president explained that it will go into effect on Friday, Nov. 18. There was no timeline for how long this will run for in the tweet.

Bukele received support from Tron founder Justin Sun who said that TRON DAO would also follow in El Salvador’s bitcoin and buy 1 BTC every day starting from Friday. 

At such rates, the buying spree would quickly increase El Salvador’s bitcoin holdings which currently sit at 2,381 BTC as of the time of this writing. The country has also completed one year of BTC being legal tender despite mixed reactions from residents toward this.

Bitcoin price chart from TradingView.com

BTC trending in the mid $16,000s | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

El Salvador has been put in an unstable position following its decision to hold BTC as part of its treasury. The country which is already stressed with debt recently received an offer from China to buy off this debt, but Bukele explained that the country continues to tread carefully. “We are not going to sell to the first bidder,” he added.

As for where the country stores its Bitcoin, the president has dismissed rumors that it held its BTC on the now-bankrupt FTX exchange. This was confirmed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao who posted on Twitter that he had spoken to the president and that El Salvador has no business with FTX.

Presently, the value of El Salvador’s bitcoin is sitting at $41 million with an unrealized loss of more than $65 million. The country has not shown any indication that it plans to sell, and its holdings could cross 3,000 BTC if it continues its 1 BTC purchases until the next bull market. 

Featured image from Forbes, chart from TradingView.com

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Bearish Indicator: Bitcoin Short Exposure Surge To New All-Time High

Large institutional investors have since been turning their attention to shorter-term investments. This tracks with retail sentiment following the price decline of bitcoin from the $30,000 territory. This has put the digital asset in a perilous position, and despite the recent recovery that saw BTC touch $25,000, bearish sentiment continues to be the order of the day, causing the inflows into short bitcoin to balloon over this time.

Short Bitcoin Inflows Grow

Short bitcoin inflows have been on the rise for a couple of months now. When the ProShares’ short bitcoin ETF had first launched earlier in 2022, it had seen record BTC inflows. Interest in the short bitcoin ETF had declined after this but quickly picked up once more. 

The most notable of these had been when the price of bitcoin had fallen below $21,000. It had declined to almost half of its all-time high back in early August, showing a reversal in bearish sentiment. However, as the month has drawn to a close, institutional investors have turned their gaze towards shorting bitcoin one more.

Short BTC exposure reaches new high | Source: Arcane Research

Inflows into the Proshares BITI pushed it to a new all-time high with 4,310 BTC recorded on August 29th. Now, it is important to note that this is nowhere near the current BTC long exposure for the Proshares ETF. Rather, the rapid climb in this short period of time points to worsening sentiment among investors.

These spikes have also coincided with the short bottoms that the price of bitcoin has experienced. The first time had been back on July 1st when exposure had reached 3,811 BTC while bitcoin’s price had fallen below $20,000. The same was the case on July 13th and 26th, with bitcoin reaching short bottoms below $20,000 and just above $20,000. So the current trend is in line with historical movements.

BTC recovers above $20,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

With 4,310 in BTC exposure to short bitcoin ETFs, it accounts for a 70% growth in the last two weeks alone. Worsening market sentiment plays a big role in this, with the Fear & Greed Index currently showing a score of 23, putting the market in extreme fear.

This is not at all unexpected, given the recent market trend. The crypto market is expected to continue its bear trend for at least another few months, and short exposure to digital assets such as bitcoin is expected to rise in that time.

Featured image from Phemex, charts from Arcane Research and TradingView.com

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Bitcoin Drops To 18-Months Lows, Has The Market Seen The Worst Of It?

Bitcoin is once again leading the market in the most recent descent into the red. This has seen the pioneer digital asset fall to 18-month lows and it has taken the rest of the market down with it. In such climes, it is usually advised that investors remain calm but that is easier said than done. Bitcoin which looked poised to visit the mid-2020 levels has not formed any kind of support and as such the market continues to wonder if the worse is yet to come.

More Bitcoin Dumps Incoming?

With the current bitcoin prices, it is now well below its 50 and 100-day moving averages. This has cemented the bearish trend for the digital asset, regardless of any positive performance over the next few days. In fact, there is every possibility that the price of the digital asset will most likely dump to 2017 all-time high levels before there is a recovery in this regard.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Decline Sees Funding Rates Plunge To Three-Month Lows

It is also important to note that it was said that the cryptocurrency had been at oversold levels, hinting at fatigue on the part of sellers. However, recent trends have shown that this was not the case. Rather, it had been a setup for even worse sell-offs. 

Due to this, it is most logical to view the market from the point of view of a prolonged bear market. Yes, there may be some merit to buying the red right now but if previous bear markets have taught investors anything, it is the fact that it can always get worse.

BTC price dumps to $23,000 level | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Also taking into account that previous bear markets have seen the price of the leading digital assets dump about 90% in the past. Even with the recent decline, Bitcoin and Ethereum still remain above these levels. This means that if they were to dump completely to follow previous trends, then there might be more pain ahead for investors.

Investor Sentiment In the Gutter

With the decline in the price of bitcoin had come great fear. This has seen the Fear & Greed Index dip toward historical levels. The reading on the index currently stands at 11, one of the lowest it has been in recent times. This indicates that investors do not want to put money in the market. Instead, they are looking to sell off, even at a loss, to mitigate further losses. 

One thing to note, however, is what times like these have bred in the past. When most retail investors are scared to go into the market, larger investors tend to take advantage of this fear and play it for their own gain. Buying up large quantities of BTC, causing the price to spike once more.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Open Interest Falls As Price Dips Below $31,000

This puts the whales in automatic profit. But there is also a risk to following these trends because the spike in price brought about by such large buys can be easily lost. In such cases, prices have been known to decline even more compared to their previous points.

In markets like this, caution needs to be applied to every move made. This is the bedrock of any investing strategy. Bitcoin’s volatility is legendary and true to form, the volatility can swing either way, causing profits or losses.

Featured image from Forbes, chart from TradingView.com

Disclaimer: The following op-ed represents the views of the author, and may not necessarily reflect the views of Bitcoinist. Bitcoinist is an advocate of creative and financial freedom alike.

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A Look Inside MicroStrategy’s $2.4 Billion Loan Used To Buy Bitcoin

Software firm MicroStrategy has cemented its position as a major Bitcoin player with its numerous large purchases. The company which is valued at $1 billion had put a significant portion of its own funds into buying BTC but the majority of the money used to purchase all of the bitcoin had been from loans. These loans which include convertible notes, senior secured loans, and bitcoin-backed loans account for $2.4 billion of its $3.97 billion BTC purchases.

How The Loans Look

MicroStrategy had used convertible notes to fund a good portion of its bitcoin holdings. These notes are converted into stock of the company when they mature. So basically, they are a payment towards future stock ownership of the software company. The convertible notes make up $1.75 billion which are pegged at a 0% to 0.75% interest rate. Making up by far the largest part of the loans MicroStrategy has taken out to buy bitcoin.

The other loans are much lesser compared to the convertible notes. An example is the senior secure loans. Data shows that MicroStrategy had only taken $500 million in these senior secured loans to purchase bitcoin. These, however, carry a higher interest rate at 6.1%.

Related Reading | Bullish: Bitcoin Marks First Green Weekly Close After Two Months In The Red

Lastly, MicroStrategy had also secured bitcoin-backed loans. These loans were first-of-its-kind loans when they were taken out by the software company. The $205 million was also used to purchase more BTC with an interest rate of around 4%.

The Bitcoin-backed loan carries the possibility of a potential margin call, as noted by the CFO. However, this is only possible if the price of BTC were to drop significantly from this point to $21,000 and below. Given current prices, there is still a long way to go before this becomes an issue. Nevertheless, the possibility of this has sparked fear in investors and MicroStrategy’s stock price has taken a hit in the last couple of weeks.

| Source: BTUCSD on TradingView.com

CEO Michael Saylor has assured investors to not worry about this though as the company has more than enough BTC to serve as collateral for its bitcoin-backed loans were prices to ever fall this low.

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Holdings

MicroStrategy remains the public company with the largest bitcoin holdings in the world with more than 129,000 BTC to its name. The total entry price of the BTC is $3.97 billion and at current prices, the software company is losing money as its 129,218 BTC is valued at $3.87 billion.

Related Reading | El Salvador Postpones Bitcoin Bonds A Second Time, Here’s Why

The company had used about $1.57 billion from the proceeds of its business to purchase BTC. The rest of it had all been financed by various types of loans, as stated above. Nevertheless, the company has been vocal about its decision to not sell any of its BTC and plans to hold it for the long term. Its holdings see it holding 0.615% of the total circulating bitcoin supply.

MicroStrategy’s bitcoin play is not all roses given that its bitcoin-backed loans carry the risk of a margin call that could reduce its position and the value of its holdings. However, if bitcoin were to go on another bull rally and reach $100,000 as predicted by a lot of industry experts, the software company could quickly become one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Featured image from BitcoinSensus, chart from TradingView.com

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Institutional Investors Refocus On Bitcoin As Market Losses Intensifies

The recent market losses have seen institutional investors shift their focus once more to bitcoin. Inflow and outflow trends paint a very vivid picture of going back towards bitcoin to minimize the losses being realized from altcoins. This has seen most of last week’s inflows going into the pioneer cryptocurrency, as altcoins mark another week of little to no inflow.

$126 Million To Bitcoin

The last week has seen renewed faith in the performance of bitcoin. This is evidenced by the fact that institutional inflows into the digital asset had topped at $126 million. Although the last couple of months have been a bit shaky when it comes to inflows, this indicates that there is the possibility of a complete turn in the tide coming. 

Related Reading | Bullish: Bitcoin Marks First Green Weekly Close After Two Months In The Red

With $126 million flowing into bitcoin, the total year-to-date inflows have now surpassed half a billion dollars to be sitting at $506 million. This inflow trend follows the uncertainty that has been rocking the market in the last couple of weeks. 

Short bitcoin was not left out of the renewed interest. Inflows had risen to a total of $1.3 million last week. This now brings the total year-to-date inflows to $55 million, which accounts for 30% of all assets under management (AuM).

BTC resumes downtrend | Source: BTUCSD on TradingView.com
Institutional Investors Leave Altcoins

The past week showed lackluster inserts from institutional investors when it came to altcoins. Ethereum which had been experiencing continued outflows would be denied reprieved once more. Its outflow trend had seen another $32 million leaving the altcoin. This saw the ninth consecutive week of outflows for the digital asset. With so much money leaving Ethereum on a weekly basis, its AuM has declined, now making up only 7% of the total AuM.

None of the altcoins saw any inflows for the past week. However, multi-asset investment products still enjoy some positive sentiment from institutional investors. They saw a total of $4.3 million in inflow for the week, continuing its inflow streak all through the market downtrend.

Related Reading | Ethereum Single-Day Liquidations Reach Three-Year High As Price Breaks $1,900

Digital asset investment product inflows came out to a total of $100 million for the past week. The majority of the inflows had been recorded from the Americas, with $88 million coming in from this region alone. The European counterparts had contributed $11 million to the number.

Inflows on a year-to-date basis now sit at $570 million and outflow from investors are at $41 million. The total inflows recorded for last week bring the total assets under management (AuM) to $39.8 billion.

These volumes suggest that institutional investors are fleeing altcoins for the safety offered by bitcoin.

Featured image from InvestAdvocate, chart from TradingView.com

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MicroStrategy Will Not Dump Any Of Its Bitcoin, CFO Reveals

MicroStrategy has become a major player in the crypto realm since it began purchasing Bitcoin. Its holdings have seen it solidify its place as the public company with the largest bitcoin holdings in the world. A notable fact is that the company had bought a good chunk of its BTC during the bull rallies of 2021. So as the price of the digital asset has begun to decline, there have been speculations regarding whether MicroStrategy plans to begin dumping its BTC.

MicroStrategy Will Not Sell BTC

MicroStrategy recently appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Kang, who so far looks to be committed to the company’s strategy. The firm has revealed in the past that it would hold its BTC for the long term and had no plans to sell. Kang has reiterated this strategy in a recent interview amid many speculations.

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Kang spoke with The Wall Street Journal where he revealed that MicroStrategy was still committed to holding its bitcoin. More importantly, the CFO explained that the company has not been facing any kind of pressure from its shareholders to actually sell off any of its BTC.

BTC starts another recovery trend | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Even with its BTC investment currently in the loss, it remains steadfast in its resolve to hold its Bitcoin. This has also been echoed by CEO Michael Saylor who took to Twitter to assure investors that MicroStrategy will not dump any of its BTC even through the bear market. Adding that the firm continues to stand with bitcoin.

BTC Will Be Worth Millions

CEO Michael Strategy is a bitcoin maximalist whose personal investment had been one of the basis for convincing the board to invest in BTC. Saylor has always been vocal about the fact that he believes the digital asset will be worth a lot of money in the future, putting it at over a million dollars.

Saylor revealed in an interview with Yahoo Finance that he sees the pioneer digital asset touching as high as $1 million in the future. He also called it the “currency of the future” while emphasizing its superiority over other cryptocurrencies in the space.

Related Reading | Exchange Inflows Rock Bitcoin, Ethereum As Market Struggles To Recover

As for MicroStrategy, the CEO explained that when it comes to buying BTC, there is no “pricing goal”. He believes that the company will continue to buy the coin at its local peaks. Interestingly, the CEO has also said that he sees the market cap of bitcoin reaching as high as $100 trillion one day.

MicroStrategy currently holds 129,218 BTC on its balance sheet. The total entry value for all of its bitcoin is $3.97 billion. While the current value of its holdings is $3.924 billion, putting the company at about $46 million in the loss.

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Mexico’s Third Richest Man Says No To Bonds, Yes To Bitcoin

Ricardo Salinas Pliego is the third richest man in Mexico who has been making headlines for his stance on bitcoin. The billionaire saw Elektra, a supermarket chain, become the first to accept bitcoin payments in the future. He has also been a strong advocate for investing in the digital asset as opposed to traditional assets. This time around, the billionaire has shocked investors after revealing that he now holds the majority of his portfolio in bitcoin.

60% To Bitcoin

During the Bitcoin conference that is being held in Miami, billionaire Ricardo Salinas made a shocking revelation. He said that the majority of his portfolio was in bitcoin and bitcoin equities, making up a total of 60% of the said portfolio. This is up significantly from the 10% of his total net worth that Salinas had said was in the digital asset last year. Going by this means that Salinas currently has billions of dollars worth of exposure to the pioneer cryptocurrency.

Bit

Although the allocated portion of the billionaire’s portfolio to bitcoin is large, it is no surprise that he chose to take the plunge. For the longest time, Salinas has been advising investors to put a portion of their portfolios into the digital asset. Often advising against storing wealth in fiat currencies.

BTC continues on downtrend | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
It’s A No For Bonds

Bonds have been a way for the ultra-wealthy to secure safe returns for the longest time. However, with inflation rates rising faster than the interest rates on these bonds, interest in them has declined over time and Salinas looks to have sworn them off completely.

When asked about his portfolio allocation, the billionaire said that he did not have any portion of his portfolio in bitcoin. Rather, he had a liquid portfolio that was made up of bitcoin and other hard asset stocks. “I definitely don’t have any bonds,” Salinas revealed. “I have a liquid portfolio—I have 60% in Bitcoin and Bitcoin equities, and then 40% in hard asset stocks like oil and gas and gold miners, and that’s where I am.”

Related Reading | The NFL’s First Team To Accept Crypto? The Tennessee Titans

He proceeded to blast bond investments which he said were a terrible choice. Given that interest rates have refused to go up and the resulting bond sell-offs that have been taking place globally, the billionaire’s stance on bonds is not a shock.

“Bond investment is a terrible investment. I wouldn’t touch a bond with a 10-foot pole,” the billionaire said. “It’s just the worst thing. I mean, the best thing that can happen to you is you get back your $100. That’s the best thing that can happen.”

Ricardo Salinas Pliego is rated as the third richest man in Mexico with a net worth o around $13 billion. He owns Grupo Elektra, a retail supermarket chain, a company that he inherited from his father, and TV Azteca, a Mexican TV broadcaster. 

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Battle Of The Hedges: How Gold And Bitcoin Have Performed With Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Bitcoin and gold have been going head to head in performance in light of the recent crisis between Russia and Ukraine. As the conflict rages on, the financial markets have been hit hard. Russia saw its stock market crash over 45% and other financial markets have equally seen declining prices. Bitcoin was not spared from this onslaught. However, gold thrived in this environment, raising the question of which asset is the better inflation hedge?

Gold Outperforms As Russia Invades Ukraine

On Thursday the 24th of February, the world watched in horror as Russia began the first phases of its invasion of Ukraine. The latter which obviously possesses less military strength saw various parts of its country bombed by the Russian forces. But elsewhere on the charts, bitcoin and gold were having a battle of their own as investors watched with bated breaths.

Related Reading | Russia Can Avoid Sanctions By Using A Wide Range Of Cryptocurrency Tools

Bitcoin has emerged in the last years as the “digital gold”, giving its physical counterpart a run for its money. Year over year, bitcoin had outperformed bitcoin and investors flocked to the digital assets as the new, dominant inflation hedge. However, as news of the Russian invasion spread across the world, the digital asset did not put up much of a fight as it had begun to plunge very fast.

Gold used this time to show that it is very much a strong contender for being a powerful hedge. As its digital competitor had declined on Thursday, gold had risen on the charts, and rapidly too.

Gold outperforms BTC after Russia invades Ukraine | Source: Twitter

The asset which had been trading as low as $1,892 per ounce the previous day had risen to as high as $1,970 on Thursday, where it peaked before declining. For that day, gold had emerged as the obvious winner between the two but this would prove to be only a temporary win.

Bitcoin Mounts A Takeover

Thursday came and gone and the markets once again began to settle by the end of the day. Bitcoin which had taken a beating on the 24th had bottomed out south of $34,000 before beginning another climb upwards.

BTC recovers above gold on Friday | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

As Thursday drew to a close, there was an obvious reversal trend between bitcoin and gold. While the latter had done well with the break of the news, the subsequent wave would see bitcoin once again being the dominant asset.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Monthly Cyclicality Paints Grim Picture For Last Week Of February

Gold had crashed back down towards $1,888 per ounce while bitcoin had recovered. The digital asset saw a price surge that saw its value come close to $40,000. Although the physicality of gold helps to promote faith in the asset, the ease of moving a digital asset like bitcoin can be a bigger reason to hold it as a hedge. As the week draws to a close, BTC remains on a recovery trend but gold has continued to decline.

Gold continues decline on Friday | Source: Gold Price
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The Uber Rich Investors Are Picking This Altcoin Over Bitcoin

For many years and likely many years to come, bitcoin has been the number 1 digital asset for investors, especially those looking to invest in the long-term. When big money started entering into the crypto space, bitcoin was the first stop before it diversified into other assets. However, as time as gone by and more altcoins are beginning to gain popularity, bitcoin is losing its hold as the number 1 choice for investors.

A recent survey that featured respondents from the ultra-wealthy class showed that they did not favor bitcoin as their first choice. Rather, they picked an altcoin whose growth has rivaled and even surpassed that of bitcoin since its inception.

Ethereum Comes On Top

Crypto.com revealed that the wealthy are gradually moving away from bitcoin. Their obvious choice besides the leading cryptocurrency is ethereum, which is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

The numbers provided by the crypto exchange showed that ethereum has made its mark on the wealthy. With its broad range of use cases and applications, like decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFTs, the value of the cryptocurrency has shot up exponentially. And with that has come more confidence from investors.

Related Reading | Ethereum Bullish Signal: Number Of Holders With 1 ETH Touches New ATH

Crypto.com reached that that ethereum beat out bitcoin by 1% when it comes to the number of high-value investors going into crypto. Bitcoin came out at 33%, while ethereum made the top of the list at 34%, proving to be the preferred digital asset for investment purposes. Crypto funds came in third at 23%, other altcoins dominated at 15%, while Dogecoin, surprisingly, made the list with 2% of investors wanting to invest in the meme coin.

The crypto exchange also noted that about 1 billion people are expected to be invested in the crypto market by 2022. By the look of things, ethereum may see a larger share of investors compared to bitcoin.

But Why ETH?

Well, for those investing in the crypto space, there could be a number of factors. One is the low-interest rates offered by banks and returns from traditional investment avenues like stock and bonds being too low to combat the inflation rate. So in order to keep inflation from eating away at their wealth, these investors have chosen the crypto market for their needs.

ETH recovers to $2,600 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin had been the inflation hedge of choice for years before now. But all of that is changing as the ethereum network has taken major steps towards becoming deflationary. President and Founder of TIGER 21, Michael Sonnenfeldt, notes that the high inflation rates are what is pushing the uber-wealthy investors towards crypto, and by extension, ethereum.

“Like all investors, the super-rich are concerned about inflation and are looking to preserve their wealth in 2022,” said Sonnenfeldt.

Related Reading | Ethereum Whales Quietly Filled Up On ETH While Broader Market Panicked

Likewise, another member of TIGER 21 explained that investors are starting to favor ethereum over bitcoin. Additionally, similar projects like Solana and Avalanche are also enjoying this support.

“I am very bullish on both Bitcoin and ETH. My personal assessment is that the tide is turning in favor of ETH. I also like Ethereum alternatives like Solana and Avalanche.” – Andy Sack, member of TIGER 21.

Featured image from The DO, chart from TradingView.com

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Bitcoin Whales Take Advantage Of Market Crash To Gobble Up Millions In BTC

The bitcoin crash rocked the market to its core when the digital asset had lost over 50% of its all-time high value to bottom out at $33,000. It was as a result of market sell-offs across the financial space, sparking a ripple effect that was felt heavily in the crypto market. Market sentiment had crumbled during this time as investors had scrambled to sell their holdings.

However, not everyone saw the declining prices as a signal to sell before prices tank even more. Whales, who control a large portion of the circulating supply, took this as a cue to buy and have been filling their bags with all of the bitcoin being dumped on the market by panicking investors.

Whale Gobbles Up Traded Bitcoin

In a report from CC15Capital, the trading activities of a whale are outlined. In what came out to be a long document, it shows that the whale had been purchasing tens of thousands of bitcoin every few hours while traders dumped their coins. CC15Capital which is an asset allocator tracked the wallet and discovered that a single bitcoin wallet had been purchasing millions of dollars worth of bitcoin.

Related Reading | Market Sentiment Crumbles As Sell-Offs Drags Bitcoin To $33,000

In the event of the past week’s price crash, this single whale had accumulated millions in bitcoin. Each purchase ranged from $2 to $18 million worth of BTC every few hours, averaging 48,000 BTC per purchase.

It looked like the whale was buying up all coins being dumped on the market. By the weekend, the wallet had successfully increased its holdings by a couple of hundred thousand BTC. The more the price dropped, the more bitcoin the whale bought.

BTC trading above $36k | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

CC15Capital, in response, called for bitcoin investors to stop dumping their coins, which are being bought by whales, thereby increasing the concentration of bitcoin supply in the hands of large investors.

Stop panic selling your #Bitcoin to this guy. He’s been buying $2-18 million worth every few hours. pic.twitter.com/eCE3UKXEfD

— CC15Capital (@Capital15C) January 24, 2022

Tradable BTC On The Decline

CC15Capital also noted that the volume of bitcoin that is available for sale has gone down. Currently, 14.5 million of the total bitcoin supply is illiquid. This means that this supply has not moved, neither have they been traded. It is the highest concentration of supply which looks to be held for the long-term.

In the same tweet, the asset allocator explains that if the wallets holding this illiquid supply were to increase their holdings by a mere 27%, a total of 4 million BTC, there would be no coins left for sale, driving the supply to zero.

#Bitcoin illiquid supply (not traded) is at 14.5 million.

If those who #HODL the 14.5 million Bitcoin, would increase their holdings by 27%, or 4 million $BTC, there would be exactly 0 remaining coins available for sale.

Keep buying and HODL. Law of supply/demand will prevail. pic.twitter.com/RUb6gHSif6

— CC15Capital (@Capital15C) January 24, 2022

Related Reading | Has Bitcoin Reached Its Bottom? Analyst Says It Still Has A Long Way To Go

Other whales have also taken advantage of the sell-offs happening in the market. As the exchange supply is dwindling, these large investors are making sure there is no shortage on their end when a supply squeeze happens.

This is how you buy $1 Billion in #Bitcoin in 2 months.

From $0 in November 2021 to over $1 Billion now.

When you panic sell your $BTC, this is one of the guys buying it.

Buy, #DCA and #HODL. pic.twitter.com/fmjpCFjCEI

— CC15Capital (@Capital15C) January 25, 2022

In two months, a whale wallet that had zero BTC in November has managed to gather an impressthatalance of over $1 billion in BTC. This account looks to have started buying with the crash and has continued to do so ever since. At the time of writing, the wallet balance sits at $1,013,777,643.51.

Featured image from TokeneoBit, chart from TradingView.com