Cryptocurrency
MicroStrategy (MSTR) Stock Charted 2-Year High This Week, Is Bitcoin to ‘Blame’?
MicroStrategy’s stock prices soared this week and tapped a multi-year peak of over $800 before going down to $700.
This led to numerous speculations and analyses on whether MSTR has the chance to enter the most well-known and attractive US stock market index – the S&P 500, and if that would impact Bitcoin in any way, given MicroStrategy’s pro-BTC strategy.
MSTR’s Volatile Week
Co-founded by Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, the NASDAQ-listed business intelligence software giant is the largest corporate holder of the primary cryptocurrency, currently in possession of 190,000 BTC. The firm stands on a massive unrealized profit of $4 billion following the latest price increase of BTC.
Given its considerable exposure to the largest cryptocurrency (currently holding $10 billion worth of Bitcoin), MicroStrategy’s stock prices have largely been impacted by BTC’s movements. This has been particularly evident in the past month or so. When BTC was sluggish at around $43,000 ten days ago, MSTR’s price had declined to under $500.
However, once Bitcoin started its ascend, in which it gained ten grand in just over a week, MSTR followed suit and went above $800 for the first time since November 2021 (coincidently, or not, when BTC painted its ATH of $69,000).
However, the cryptocurrency failed to breach the $53,000 line and has retraced by a grand. In an even more painful decline, MSTR dropped by 13% since its local peak to close on Friday at $700.
MicroStrategy to Enter the S&P 500?
Following its substantial increase in the past few weeks, MicroStrategy’s total market cap exceeded $12 trillion at one point, and the company neared the top 500 largest US firms by that metric.
This led to speculations about whether the largest corporate holder of BTC could enter the most prominent US stock market index – the S&P 500. However, there are certain criteria that the firm has to meet in order to find a place within the index that tracks the performance of the largest 500 companies traded on US stock exchanges.
Its market cap has to be over $15.8 billion, meaning that its stock price needs to climb above $940. 250,000 shares or more have to be traded in the past half a year. The majority of which have to be owned by the public.
MicroStrategy meets some of the criteria so far, including posting a positive sum of profits over its last four quarters, including the most recent one.
Nevertheless, even if it meets all requirements, the S&P has an 11-member executive committee that has to approve its potential listing. Given its exposure to BTC and the controversial views of Wall Street on the cryptocurrency industry, this could prove to be a rather challenging endeavor.
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Cryptocurrency
BTC Price Rises Above $105K After Fed Decision, LINK Up 7% Daily (Market Watch)
Bitcoin’s price experienced some expected volatility after yesterday’s FOMC meeting but has headed north and now sits above $105,000.
Most altcoins are in a similar position, with ETH increasing past $3,200 and SOL rising to $240.
BTC Above $105K
The primary cryptocurrency had a quiet weekend in which its price stood mostly in a tight range between $104,000 and $105,000. The landscape changed on Monday, similar to the previous one when the bears took charge of the market and initiated a substantial leg down.
Within hours during the morning Asian trading session, BTC plunged by several grand to a multi-week low of under $98,000. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency didn’t stay there for long and went back into six-digit territory by the end of the day.
The next couple of days were a lot less eventful, aside from another brief decline toward $100,000. The market anticipated the Fed’s decision on Wednesday evening, and bitcoin stood still. Once the expected decision of no interest rate cuts was announced, BTC headed south by over a grand from $103,000 to $101,500.
However, it bounced off and has added roughly $4,000 since then to trade at $105,500 as of press time. Its market capitalization has neared $2.1 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts is well above 56%.
LINK Jumps 7%
Most alternative coins have followed BTC on the way up. Ethereum defended the $3,000 level and now sits above $3,200 following a 3% daily increase. Similar price jumps are evident from SOL, ADA, and TRX.
Chainlink has gained 6.5% on the day and now trades close to $25. Even more impressive gains come from the likes of SIU, LTC, HYPE, and ONDO.
The cumulative market cap of all crypto assets had added more than $100 billion in a day. As a result, the metric sits above $3.710 trillion on CG.
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Cryptocurrency
How High Could Bitcoin Go in This Bull Cycle? Analyst Weighs In
TL;DR
- Analyst Ali Martinez suggests Bitcoin (BTC) has more room for growth during this bull run before a potential cycle shift.
- Essential factors like reduced MVRV and negative exchange netflows support the thesis of further gains in the near future.
The Possible Cycle Top
The primary cryptocurrency has been on an evident uptrend in the past several months, charting substantial gains after Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential elections.
Recall that Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at less than $70K prior to the voting, whereas a month later, it surpassed the psychological level of $100K for the first time in its existence. Despite the volatility, the solid performance continued, and on January 20 (hours before Trump’s inauguration), the asset tapped a new all-time high of almost $110,000. The next 10 days offered more turbulence before BTC stabilized at its current $105,000 (per CoinGecko’s data).
According to numerous industry participants, the valuation has yet to reach unseen peaks during this bull cycle. The popular X user Ali Martinez recently suggested that BTC could soar to as high as $184,000 before entering a bearish mode. He based his prediction on the assumption that cycle shifts typically occur once the price surpasses 2.4x the 200-day Simple Moving Average (which is set at the depicted mark).
Cycle shifts for #Bitcoin $BTC typically happen when it surpasses 2.4x the 200-day SMA. That key level currently stands at $184,600! pic.twitter.com/kbLpJ5AQd4
— Ali (@ali_charts) January 30, 2025
Many factors signal that BTC might indeed flourish in the following months. One of those includes the asset’s historical performance in February. As CryptoPotato reported, 8 of the last 12 Februaries saw BTC jumping by double digits. It is important to note that next month is a post-halving February, and all previous ones have resulted in impressive spikes.
Bitcoin’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) and exchange netflow are also worth mentioning. The former metric has been hovering below the healthy level of 2.5 over the last several days, suggesting that the asset might have shifted toward undervalued territory.
BTC’s exchange netflow has been predominantly negative in the past week, with outflows surpassing inflows. This could be interpreted as a transition from centralized platforms toward self-custody methods, which reduces the immediate selling pressure.
Additional Bullish Predictions
Martinez is not the only one envisioning further pumps for BTC in the near future. X user Captain Faibik observed the formation of a “broadening wedge pattern” to set a $120,000 target potentially reached in February.
Michael van de Poppe and Jelle were also bullish. The former thinks a new ATH may occur in the coming weeks, while the latter believes $110K is “the final hurdle” before “a new leg of price discovery awaits.”
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Cryptocurrency
Fed Chair Calls for Crypto Regulation, Warns Banks Against ‘Excess Risk Aversion’
“I do think it would be helpful if there were a greater regulatory apparatus around crypto,” the US central bank chair said at the Federal Open Market Committee press conference on Jan. 29. He added that it is something Congress and the Fed have been “working on quite a lot.”
“We’ve actually spent a lot of time, you know, with House Financial Services, working together with them on various things, and I think that would be a very constructive thing for Congress to do,” he said.
The comments came as the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 4.25% to 4.5% following last week’s CPI data that showed inflation was not as high as many anticipated.
Don’t Debank Crypto Customers
Powell also said the central bank was “not against innovation” with regard to cryptocurrencies.
Speaking about banking restrictions, he added, “We certainly don’t want to take actions that would cause banks to, you know, terminate customers who are perfectly legal just because of excess risk aversion, maybe related to regulation and supervision.”
Powell’s remarks at the first FOMC meeting under the Trump administration came as concerns about so-called “debanking” efforts have risen to the highest ranks of government.
“Banks are perfectly able to serve crypto customers, as long as they understand and can manage the risks, and it’s safe and sound,” Powell said before adding, “The threshold has been a little higher for banks engaging in crypto activities, and that’s because they’re so new.”
He noted that individual investors needed better protection as the risks may not be fully understood. He also compared crypto to stocks and mutual funds, saying that similar consumer safeguards should apply.
No Disagreements With Trump
The central bank chair has avoided responding directly to comments made or actions taken by Donald Trump in recent weeks. He said there has been “no contact” with the new president, noting that disagreements would undermine the Fed’s credibility.
“We stand ready to take appropriate action to support the smooth transmission of monetary policy, including adjusting the details of our approach for reducing the size of our balance sheet in light of economic and financial developments,” he said.
More economic data is expected this week, with fourth-quarter GDP Growth Annualized advance estimates due on Thursday and December’s Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report due on Friday.
Crypto markets were up marginally during the Thursday morning Asian trading session, with Bitcoin leading the pack and reclaiming $105,000.
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