Сборщик RSS-лент

Центральный банк Малайзии (BNG) представил трехлетний проект исследования и тестирования токенизации активов финансового рынка.

Европейское подразделение криптобиржи Bybit приостановило открытие счетов гражданам России, а также Беларуси, Афганистана, Ирана, Северной Кореи, Сирии и Судана. Служба поддержки компании объяснила изменения «требованиями соблюдения законодательства».

Глава венчурного фонда Sigma Capital Винит Будки (Vineet Budki) заявил, что инвесторы до сих пор не понимают биткоин и при малейшей коррекции избавляются от этого актива, создавая давление на цену первой криптовалюты.

В поселке Смоленщина под городом Иркутском энергетики в течение недели обнаружили две нелегальные майнинг-фермы, подключенные к линиям электропередач, сообщило иркутское «Облкоммунэнерго».

Основателя и руководителя рухнувшей турецкой криптобиржи Thodex Фарука Фатиха Озера (Faruk Fatih Özer) нашли мертвым в тюрьме турецкого города Текирдаг.

In the often-heated debates about the future of finance, Bitcoin and gold are frequently pitted against each other as competing assets. However, this perspective overlooks a more profound truth, and there are two distinct and complementary manifestations of the same enduring monetary revolution.

How Bitcoin And Gold Perform Under Different Conditions

The narrative behind the ongoing Bitcoin and gold war is often missed. In an X post, Ayni Gold has offered an insightful perspective on the matter, arguing that both assets are value rails with different powers and have been winning in their lanes.

Ayni Gold highlighted that adoption is broad on both sides. The Bitcoin network has evolved into a multi-trillion-dollar asset class, with its market capitalization hovering around $2.2 trillion, powered by record ETF inflows this month. Meanwhile, the gold role is strengthening, not fading. Central banks have accumulated heavily through Q3 2025, and expect to continue increasing their reserves over the next five years.

Furthermore, the tokenized gold led by XAUT and PAXG has surpassed $2.5 billion in market value. This digital evolution of gold will lower frictions for transfer and fractional access relative to many legacy rails. While it doesn’t erase custodians, it effectively compresses the intermediary stack for more users.

The core of this is to stop picking tribes to manage risk. Ayni Gold advocates acquiring both assets and letting them do their job. This suggests a balanced portfolio, with BTC for permissionless, high-beta digital scarcity and global settlement, and gold for durability through macro cycles. 

Both are different instruments, yet they share the same goal of preserving and maintaining purchasing power. However, Ayni Gold mentioned that they are building practical rails between physical gold and Ethereum so more people can access gold-linked rewards transparently.

BTC And Gold As Pillars Of Financial Resilience

While Bitcoin and gold have long shared a deep macro correlation, an investor in crypto and blockchain, Batman, has noted that when analyzing Bitcoin and gold performance cycles closely, there tends to be a time lag before BTC catches up with gold.

Meanwhile, a closer look at the data over the past two years reveals that the time lag of BTC and gold has consistently ranged between 77 and 98 days. Presently, data shows that gold has rallied for nine weeks straight and is showing signs of topping out after a sustained surge in prices. 

According to the expert, this move also marks 77 days from when gold started rallying. If the longest time observed lag is around 98 days, then it won’t take long before BTC catches up to gold.

The Bitcoin price struggles continued over the past week, reflecting the largely pessimistic sentiment in the digital asset market in the month of October. The premier cryptocurrency dropped beneath the psychological $110,000 level despite the interest rate cut decision by the United States Federal Reserve on Wednesday, October 29.

The tame reaction of the Bitcoin price—and other large-cap assets—has raised concerns about the viability of the crypto market in the current cycle. Nevertheless, a prominent blockchain firm CEO has predicted that, although the bull cycle might be coming to an end, the market leader might just be days away from a new all-time high price.

BTC Could Peak Between $143,000 – $146,000: CEO

In an October 31st post on the X platform, Alphractal founder and CEO Joao Wedson revealed that the price of Bitcoin could run up to a new all-time high in the short term. The crypto expert put the potential cycle peak for the flagship cryptocurrency at a price between $143,000 and $146,000.

This evaluation revolves around the Max Intersect SMA Model (the blue line), which has accurately identified the price peaks of previous BTC cycles. Wedson’s analysis expects the Bitcoin price to soon reach a new all-time high (and the cycle peak), as the cycle is currently in its final stage (the distribution phase).

According to the Alphractal CEO, the Bitcoin Smart Model price (the blue line) recently jumped from around $60,000 and now stands at $62,664. Wedson noted that once this Smart Model price gets close to the $68,000 region, that could represent the exact day of a new all-time high for the Bitcoin price.

Furthermore, Wedson highlighted the current sideways movement of the Bitcoin price as a result of the market hunting for liquidity up and down during the current distribution phase. “Now, many are afraid to sell, confident we’ll shoot straight to $250K — which, historically, is the classic signature of a distribution phase,” the crypto founder said.

Ultimately, Wedson warned that the bear market could arrive sooner than expected; hence, investors should approach the market with caution.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $110,120, reflecting a mere 0.1% increase in the past 24 hours. While the premier cryptocurrency seems to be recovering fairly, the last day’s slight jump is not enough to cover the past week’s loss. According to data from CoinGecko, the market leader is down by over 1% in the last seven days.

Shiba Inu appears to be repeating a familiar market structure, according to a recent technical analysis shared by crypto trader IncomeSharks on X. The analyst highlighted how SHIB’s price history over the past two years reflects a cyclical pattern of short-lived rallies followed by prolonged downturns. At the time of writing, SHIB is trading around $0.00001007, showing little momentum to break free from its extended bearish grip.

Is Shiba Inu’s Market Structure Looking Bearish?

The analyst’s daily candlestick timeframe chart, which tracks Shiba Inu’s daily price action since early 2024, presents a visual timeline of its repeated boom-and-bust movements in recent years. 

The first major phase came in early 2024 when SHIB experienced a rapid one-month surge, its biggest move during the observed period. This move took place in just one month and saw the Shiba Inu price break above $0.00004. However, this bullish stretch was quickly followed by a six-month decline between March and September 2024 that erased much of the gains.

The analyst noted that the next significant recovery phase lasted about three months, starting around September 2024 and ending in December, after which SHIB again entered a long-term bearish trend up until the time of writing. This recurring pattern of brief rallies and extended downturns paints a picture of the Shiba Inu price struggling to sustain upward momentum when compared to other cryptocurrencies.

What To Expect If The Pattern Continues

In his post, IncomeSharks summarized this cycle as “basically a two-year-long bear market that started with a wild pump and one little relief rally.” The statement echoes what the chart above shows: one sharp upward move followed by an extended sequence of red candles. As it stands, Shiba Inu is now into about 11 months of downward price action, making this one of its longest bearish phases to date.

If SHIB’s current trajectory remains consistent with the pattern identified by the analyst, the token could face additional months of consolidation or decline before any significant rebound occurs. It also implies that traders hoping for a repeat of any parabolic surges may have to wait longer.

Furthermore, Shiba Inu’s biggest uptrend within the two-year frame lasted just one month. This means that the next major bullish movement, whenever it happens, could arrive quickly but fade just as fast within a month if selling pressure resumes.

This behavior is not limited to Shiba Inu; it reflects a wider sentiment that has gripped the entire meme coin market over the past year. Even Dogecoin, the king of meme coins, has struggled to maintain its momentum above  $0.2 despite multiple attempts to reclaim its earlier highs. Each failed breakout has sent ripples across the meme coin sector, dampening enthusiasm and pulling other tokens like SHIB, PEPE, and FLOKI into similar patterns of prolonged correction.

At the time of writing, Shiba Inu is trading at $0.00001007, up by 2.8% in the past 24 hours but down 20% in a 30-day timeframe.

Popular lawyer Bill Morgan has revealed another company that is holding a significant amount of XRP on its balance sheet. This follows the emergence of Evernorth, another treasury company that has accumulated over $1 billion worth of the token. 

Another XRP Treasury Company Emerges With Significant Holdings

In an X post, Morgan drew attention to an SEC filing from Virtu Financial that showed it holds XRP on its balance sheet. The company, which boasts a market cap of just over $5 billion, holds 22 million XRP worth just over $55 million at the current price. The lawyer also noted that the company appears to be financially strong, which is a positive for the altcoin. 

Related Reading: Are The XRP Tokens In Escrow At Risk Of Being Sold? Ripple CTO Shares Insights

The treasury company is said to be a global financial services firm specializing in market-making and execution services. Furthermore, the company provides liquidity across global markets in asset classes including equities, ETFs, fixed income, commodities, and derivatives. 

Based on data from Crypto Treasury Tracker, Very ranks among the top 10 largest XRP treasury companies, just behind Wellgistics Health. It is worth mentioning that Virtu has underperformed this year despite its holdings. TradingView data shows that the company’s stock is down over 2% year-to-date (YTD). However, the stock has risen by over 3% in the last five days. 

Meanwhile, this development follows the recent emergence of Ripple-backed Evernorth, which plans to build the largest treasury. XRPScan data shows that the treasury company currently holds 388.7 million XRP worth nearly $1 billion, making it the largest XRP treasury. The company had earlier announced plans to raise over $1 billion from investors such as Ripple, Kraken, Pantera Capital, and GSR. 

This comes ahead of the company’s debut on the Nasdaq. The treasury company plans to list on the stock exchange through a business combination agreement with Armada II. Armada notably recently changed its ticker to XRPN as part of the business agreement. 

More Institutions Set To Accumulate The Altcoin

More institutional investors are set to accumulate the token with the imminent launch of the Canary Capital XRP ETF. The asset manager filed an amendment to its fund to remove the delaying amendment, allowing it to launch on November 13. This will be similar to how the firm launched its Hedera and Litecoin ETFs earlier this week. 

Related Reading: The Deadline For The Ripple Bank Is Almost Here – Important Date draws Close

However, while institutions look to accumulate the token, long-term holders are offloading their coins, which is negatively impacting its price. On-chain analytics platform Glassnode revealed that these holders who accumulated before November 2024 have ramped up their spending by 580% from $38 million daily to $260 million daily. The platform noted that this is a clear sign that seasoned traders are exiting and adding pressure to the price action. 

At the time of writing, the altcoin’s price is trading at around $2.51, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Custodia Bank, the popular crypto bank founded by Caitlin Long, has suffered another court setback in its fight for a Federal Reserve master account. Notably, the Wyoming-based institution failed to secure a favorable appeal ruling after an initial court rejection in March 2024.

Appeals Court Upholds Fed Decision In Custodia Case

In 2020, Custodia Bank filed an application with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) seeking a master account, which would grant the crypto-focused institution direct access to the Federal Reserve’s payment system, allowing it to operate without relying on intermediary banks.

However, the application was rejected in 2023, with the FRBKC citing concerns over banking practices. This decision came after Custodia had already filed a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve in 2022, accusing the regulator of an “unlawful delay” in processing its application.

In March 2024, the popular crypto bank legally challenged the Fed’s decision, arguing that the central bank lacked the legal authority to deny its master account application. The bank also accused the Federal Reserve Board of Governors of possible collusion with the Kansas City Fed in orchestrating the rejection.

Judge Scott Skavdahl of the US District Court for the District of Wyoming dismissed Custodia’s claims, ruling that federal law does not mandate the Federal Reserve to grant a master account to every eligible institution. He affirmed that the Fed retains broad discretion in deciding whether to approve or deny such applications.

This ruling was followed by an appeal at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2024. Nineteen months later, the Appellate court has now agreed with the lower court, upholding the Fed’s discretion in granting a master account or not, regardless of eligibility. 

The ruling said: 

We agree with the district court that “[t]he plain language of the relevant statutes can only reasonably be read to give the Federal Reserve Banks discretion in granting or denying requests for master accounts.” Custodia Bank, 728 F. Supp. 3d at 1245. Accordingly, we hold that Custodia is not statutorily and automatically entitled to a master account. We AFFIRM the district court’s judgment in favor of Defendants on all claims. 

What Next For Custodia? 

In a response to the court ruling, Custodia has hinted at a potential petition for rehearing, citing a strong dissenting opinion by one of the appeals court judges. 

The statement read: 

While we were hoping for a win at the Tenth Circuit today, we received the next best thing — a strong dissent. It raised serious Constitutional questions about the Federal Reserve and was written by a judge sitting by designation on the panel of a similar case in the Ninth Circuit. Including Judge Bacharach’s opinion in the Fourth Corner case, there’s now a 2–2 split on this question among Tenth Circuit judges (2–1 in Custodia’s favor among active Tenth Circuit judges). Custodia has an option to petition for a rehearing by the Tenth Circuit, and we are actively considering that.

At press time, the total crypto market cap remains valued at $3.68 trillion following a 2.65% gain. 

The ongoing United States (US) government shutdown has caused a delay in the approval of several crypto investment products, including the XRP ETFs. As investors eagerly anticipate institutional exposure to one of the most popular and debated crypto assets, new insights from market insiders shed light on revised timelines, procedural shifts, and what could happen once the regulatory delay is cleared. 

XRP ETF Approval Delayed Amid US Government Shutdown 

Former Fox Business Journalist Eleanor Terrett has provided fresh updates on the evolving timeline for XRP ETFs approval. In a recent post on X social media, she revealed that Canary Funds has filed an updated S-1 registration for its XRP Spot ETF, removing the delaying amendment that typically gives the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) control over when such filings take effect. 

She also stated that Canary Funds’ procedural change effectively sets the stage for a potential automatic launch date of November 13, provided that NASDAQ grants approval for the accompanying 8-A filing. Nevertheless, the timeline for the ETF approvals remains uncertain due to the ongoing government shutdown.

If the US Federal Government reopens soon and the SEC resumes normal operations, Terrett notes that the approval and subsequent launch of XRP ETFs could proceed more quickly. However, they could also face further postponements, depending on additional reviews by SEC staff. 

Terrett mentioned that the current SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, has signaled support for companies using the auto-effective process to bring new financial products to the market. While Atkins did not directly address ETFs, he praised firms such as MapLight for successfully going public during the government shutdown through the statutory 20-day waiting mechanism—the same process used by Bitwise and Canary to launch their recent Solana, Hedera, and Litecoin ETFs. 

The US Congress originally designed this approach to keep capital markets active during periods of administrative downtime. Now, it is being leveraged by crypto asset managers seeking to launch their XRP ETFs and other crypto ETPs without prolonged regulatory delays. In a follow-up discussion, Terrett clarified that previous October deadlines for XRP ETF approval are now irrelevant because the SEC’s new generic listing standards have eliminated the need for the older 19b-4 filing process, effectively rendering earlier submission dates obsolete. 

Major Liquidity Surge Expected After XRP ETF Approval

Crypto analyst ‘DigitalG’ on X has added further perspective on the potential market impact of the pending approval of the ETFs. He revealed that the ongoing US government shutdown has led to a backlog of XRP ETF filings awaiting clearance. Once the SEC reopens and begins processing the backlog, the analyst predicts that multiple approvals could occur in quick succession. 

He suggested that this rapid approval process could immediately increase institutional access and demand for XRP, triggering a major surge in market liquidity. DigitalG also forecasted that this sudden influx of institutional participation could catalyze significant price movements. He explained that the expected wave of ETF approvals might provide the perfect backdrop for covering massive short positions currently in the market.

The Bitcoin market experienced another eventful trading week marked by multiple failed breakouts from the $115,000 resistance zone despite the announcement of another interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. As price action presently consolidates around $110,000, data from the Bitcoin Options market has provided insights into traders’ behavior and general sentiment.

Bitcoin Options Traders Bet On Stable Market

On Friday, prominent blockchain analytics firm Glassnode shared its weekly update of the Bitcoin options market, analyzing traders’ beliefs on future price movement. As earlier stated, the Fed announced its second rate cut for 2025 on Wednesday. While this is a popular bullish move, the hawkish tone indicating fewer cuts ahead reduced traders’ optimism, resulting in a brief rally for risk assets such as Bitcoin. 

Amid this development, the BTC Implied Volatility Index, which measures how much volatility traders expect in the future, is grinding lower. This data suggests that traders are pricing a calmer BTC with no expectations of a major price move despite the present macro noise. Meanwhile, the 1M Volatility Risk Premium also turned negative as realized volatility moved faster than implied volatility. Glassnode expects this development to mean-revert, meaning the short-term volatility is overpriced and traders are likely to sell, thereby backing the narrative of an expected calm market. 

Furthermore, the Put/Call volume also showed another side to this narrative, producing a full retest to its lowest value in October. Notably, traders initially showed bullish action with a wave of calls but soon changed sentiment in line with the general market. However, amid the domination of calls, Glassnode notes neutral directional conviction, i.e, equal buying and selling pressure, backing the market’s lack of confidence in an immediate bullish or bearish move.

Little Hope On Price Upswing? 

The 25-delta skew chart has provided another narrative that shows a growing sense of caution. Notably, this metric measures the implied volatility between calls and puts. When the 25-delta skew is neutral, it means traders see a balanced risk as put and calls are equally priced. Following a brief stint in this neutral zone, this metric is now rising again, indicating that traders are valuing puts higher and are actively hedging against a price downswing.

Therefore, while there is no expectation of any significant price move in the short-term, Bitcoin Option traders appear significantly wary of any price fall.  At press time, Bitcoin is valued at $109, 304 reflecting a minor 1.94% gain in the past day. Meanwhile, the daily trading volume is down by 11.62% and valued at $65.18 billion.

Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview

Although Shiba Inu has remained the second-largest meme coin by market cap, its price performance in recent times has left much to be desired. The meme coin has failed to put in a new all-time high this cycle, with the price down more than 88% from its all-time high levels from 2021. However, even this underperformance has not eroded the bullish sentiment surrounding the token, as one analyst has predicted that the Shiba Inu price still has more to offer.

Consolidation Will End, And Shiba Inu Price Will Surge

Over the last few months, the Shiba Inu price has fallen into a consolidation trend that has waxed stronger with the uncertain market headwinds. This has seen the price trade in a very tight range during this time, holding between $0.000009 and $0.000013 without any significant breakout in sight.

Like with any consolidation trend, this time has been seen as a good time to get into the meme coin and begin buying at a discount. However, this is also entirely dependent on how long the consolidation is expected to last before there is a breakout, which would determine if accumulation was a good choice or not.

According to crypto analyst MMBTtrader, this current consolidation may be presenting a good opportunity for entry. So far, the Shiba Inu price has seen a persistent dominance of low volatility, and the momentum has remained muted. Historically, during times of quiet like these, the best entries and trades are made.

Furthermore, the crypto analyst pointed out that the Shiba Inu consolidation and accumulation phase may actually be nearing its end. Right now, the only thing left would be a catalyst that would trigger the next wave of the uptrend. This could be in the form of bullish news or a technical push. Either way, the outcome is expected to be the same.

Shooting For New Yearly Highs

In the case of a breakout, the crypto analyst expects the Shiba Inu price to see a notable and sharp rise. Multiple targets are set out for the meme coin, but all with triple-digit ascents. The first of these is a 200% breakout to the $0.00003364 level.

Next on the list is a 402% price increase that would push the Shiba Inu price as high as $0.00005480. While the final target is a 608% increase to push it above the $0.000075 level. While none of these puts it above its previous all-time high levels, it does send it quite close. As for the timeframe for this breakout to be completed, the crypto analyst puts it between 2026 and 2027, so over a year before completion.

Криптовалютная биржа MEXC назвала слухи о проблемах с платежеспособностью «несостоятельными» и заявила о полном обеспечении активов пользователей резервами.

According to a report from Bloomberg, US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is reportedly in advanced negotiations to acquire BVNK, a startup specializing in stablecoin infrastructure, in a deal valued at approximately $2 billion. This acquisition is pending due diligence and could see closure later this year or early next year.

Coinbase Ventures Poised To Acquire BVNK

Coinbase Ventures, the venture capital arm of Coinbase, is known to be an investor in BVNK, suggesting a pre-existing relationship that may facilitate the acquisition. 

One spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company is committed to its mission of expanding economic freedom globally and actively explores various opportunities through building, acquiring, partnering, or investing.

If the deal goes through, it would mark another significant move in the stablecoin sector, especially following the introduction of the first US regulations on these assets in July with the passage of the GENIUS Act. 

This regulatory framework has prompted various entities, including credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, as well as traditional banks, to experiment with blockchain technology to streamline financial transactions.

Earlier this week, Fortune reported that Coinbase has secured exclusivity in discussions with BVNK following a competitive bidding process. 

Coinbase has been actively seeking to diversify its revenue streams beyond trading fees, with nearly 20% of its revenue in the third quarter coming from stablecoins, as indicated in the company’s recent shareholder letter. 

The exchange aims to enhance the utilization of Circle’s USDC stablecoin, for which it shares revenue with issuer Circle Internet Group Inc., and has formed partnerships, such as with Shopify, to further this goal.

Exceeding Expectations

Founded in 2021, BVNK has successfully raised $90 million in funding from notable investors, including Citi Ventures, Haun Ventures, and Visa. 

BVNK’s platform enables merchants to accept payments in stablecoins, which aligns with Coinbase’s strategy to create a more comprehensive banking experience built on stablecoins. 

Earlier this year, Coinbase launched Coinbase Business, a platform designed to assist businesses with payments and invoicing, indicating a clear intent to expand its offerings in this area.

The exchange has also recently completed its acquisition of Deribit, a leading player in the options market that holds over 75% of market share outside the United States, according to Alesia Haas, Coinbase’s finance chief.

In its third-quarter report, Coinbase surpassed analysts’ expectations with a transaction revenue of $1.05 billion, a substantial increase from $572.5 million during the same period last year. 

The exchange’s stock, COIN, closed the week’s trading session at $343, an 8.2% retrace in just four days amid the broader crypto market’s volatility. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Межбанковский платежный оператор Conexus завершил подготовку к запуску блокчейн-платформы для прямой интеграции криптовалют в банковскую систему Венесуэлы, заявил президент компании Родольфо Гаспарри (Rodolfo Gasparri).

В городе Енакиево Донецкой Народной Республики на одном из складов была обнаружена и ликвидирована нелегальная майнинговая ферма.

Стейблкоины, привязанные к доллару США, составляют опасную конкуренцию для банков, оттягивают депозиты и усложняют государственный контроль над ликвидностью, заявил главный экономический советник Индии Ананта Нагесваран (Anantha Nageswaran).

Data shows the Ethereum Funding Rate has declined into the negative zone. Here’s what has usually followed this trend in the last two months.

Ethereum Funding Rate Suggests Traders Are Now Bearish

As explained by analytics firm Santiment in a new post on X, shorts are dominating the Ethereum derivatives market now. The indicator of relevance here is the “Funding Rate,” which measures the amount of periodic fee that traders are exchanging between each other on the various derivatives platforms.

When the value of this metric is positive, it means long holders are paying a premium to those with short bets in order to hold onto their positions. Such a trend implies a bullish sentiment is dominant.

On the other hand, the indicator being under the zero mark suggests the derivatives traders as a whole may be holding a bearish mentality as short positions outweigh the long ones.

Now, here is the chart shared by Santiment that shows the trend in the Ethereum Funding Rate across all exchanges over the last couple of months:

As displayed in the above graph, the Ethereum Funding Rate has witnessed a decline into the negative zone recently, which implies derivatives market balance has shifted toward bearish positions.

The market sentiment turning red, however, may not actually be a negative for the cryptocurrency’s price. In the chart, the analytics firm has highlighted the pattern that the asset has followed with this metric during the past two months.

It would appear that ETH has tended to go against the Funding Rate in this window. That is, a notable positive level has led into price corrections, while a negative one into price rebounds.

The explanation behind the trend may lie in the fact that the dominant side of the market is more likely to get entangled in a liquidation squeeze. Such an event tends to be violent, involving a cascade of liquidations that feeds back into price volatility.

While the Ethereum Funding Rate has turned red, its value is still not as negative as some of the previous lows that resulted in short squeezes, so it only remains to be seen whether one will follow this time.

In some other news, Ethereum saw significant net exchange outflows of about $643 million over the past week, as revealed by institutional DeFi solutions provider Sentora in an X post.

Bitcoin saw even greater exchange withdrawals of more than $2 billion. “This is a strong bullish signal despite market uncertainty, as investors are moving coins into self-custody for long-term holding,” explained Sentora.

ETH Price

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading around $3,850, up over 2% over the last 24 hours.

Michael Saylor, the chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest corporate Bitcoin (BTC) holding company, is intensifying his multibillion-dollar investment in BTC.

In a recent report by Bloomberg, it was revealed that Saylor is increasing the yield on preferred shares, which he has designated as the primary funding source for the company going forward. 

Investor Confidence Dips

During an earnings conference call, Saylor indicated that the company is at a critical juncture. He noted that the multiple of net asset value has been declining over time as the Bitcoin asset class matures and volatility decreases. 

As part of its latest financial developments, Strategy announced that the yield on its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC) will rise by 25 basis points to 10.5% starting in November. 

On Thursday, the company reported a net income of $2.8 billion for the quarter, largely attributed to an unrealized gain from its substantial cryptocurrency holdings, which are valued at approximately $70 billion.

Despite Bitcoin reaching record highs during the third quarter and many public firms mimicking Saylor’s treasury model established five years ago, investor confidence is waning. 

Strategy’s shares (MSTR) have plummeted about 45% since reaching a record high last November, diminishing much of the premium the stock previously enjoyed over its Bitcoin assets. 

Furthermore, demand for the preferred shares has been lukewarm, with recent sales falling short of Saylor’s expectations for significant capital raises. This has led to a slowdown in Bitcoin purchases recently.

In response to these challenges, Strategy is exploring international markets for capital and is considering launching exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by the preferred shares, as outlined by CEO Phong Le during the earnings call. 

Saylor Open To Strategy Equity Sales

Following the release of second-quarter results, Strategy had committed to not issuing new common shares at less than 2.5 times its net asset value, except to cover debt interest or preferred dividends. 

However, Saylor indicated a willingness to opportunistically tap into the market when the premium is favorable, using equity sales to fund additional Bitcoin purchases. Despite attempts to reassure shareholders, the company subsequently issued more common shares, prompting skepticism.

Gus Gala, an analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt & Co., expressed concerns regarding potential dilution, stating that if current sales are executed, the dilution could become substantial. 

In the latest earnings report, Strategy confirmed that it did not issue shares under its Common Stock ATM Program this month and reiterated its commitment to a disciplined approach in raising funds through equity.

The company also adopted new accounting standards in January that require it to include the fair value of its Bitcoin holdings in its earnings reports. This change has resulted in significant fluctuations between profits and losses over the past two quarters, including a loss of approximately $340 million in the same period last year.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com