Bitcoin-stacking investment firm Metaplanet has made a significant move by purchasing an additional 21.88 Bitcoin, valued at over $1.2 million (200 million Japanese yen), amid a recent Bitcoin rally that has driven prices close to $65,000.
In its latest purchase statement dated July 16, the Japan-based firm revealed that its total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 225.6 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $14.6 million.
This recent acquisition, coupled with a 4.4% rise in Bitcoin’s price over the last 24 hours, has led to a notable surge in Metaplanet’s share prices.
According to Google Finance data, the company’s shares jumped 25.8% to $0.74 (117 yen) within the first two and a half hours of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 16.
Earlier this month, Metaplanet took advantage of a dip in Bitcoin’s price, purchasing an additional 42.46 Bitcoin on July 7 for $2.5 million (400 million yen).
This strategic move has contributed to the firm’s stock price soaring nearly six-fold since it announced its Bitcoin investment strategy on April 9, 2024.
Despite the impressive growth in its stock price, Metaplanet’s overall gain on its Bitcoin holdings is modest at 2.8%, given its average Bitcoin purchase price of $62,890.
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According to CoinGecko, Metaplanet is currently the 21st-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally.
Often referred to as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” Metaplanet mirrors the investment approach of Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy from 2020.
On May 13, Metaplanet reiterated its commitment to utilizing a full range of capital market instruments to enhance its Bitcoin reserves.
The firm adopted this strategy as a hedge against Japan’s escalating debt and the rapidly depreciating Japanese yen.
Since January 2021, the yen has depreciated nearly 54% against the U.S. dollar, while Bitcoin has appreciated over 145% against the yen in the past year.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $64,640, marking a 13.6% increase over the past week.
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Marathon Digital Holdings did not sell any of its Bitcoin in June, reflecting a growing trend among U.S.-based Bitcoin miners to hold rather than sell their mined Bitcoin.
Cointelegraph interviewed Salman Khan, Marathon’s CFO, to understand the factors influencing miners’ decisions on whether to accumulate or sell Bitcoin.
“It’s a very systematic process that we go through from an internal process standpoint,” Khan stated.
“There are market dynamics that you have to consider […] in the short term, the Bitcoin price could fluctuate, and your decision could be impacted as a result of that.”
Khan highlighted the unique nature of Bitcoin compared to other assets.
“If we were an oil company, we would sell all our oil because that would be our primary source of revenue and cash flows,” he explained.
“Bitcoin is a digital asset and can stay on your balance sheet without storage costs.”
Marathon currently holds 18,536 Bitcoin worth over $1 billion, up 48% from last year’s 12,538.
Khan noted, “Last year, the rate of return on this asset class was 150% over the last few years. We believe in the Bitcoin price going up further.
READ MORE: Spot Bitcoin ETFs Surge: Record $310 Million Inflows on Strongest Day Since June
“We don’t need to sell Bitcoin every month.”
Other U.S. miners are also accumulating Bitcoin. Riot Platforms hasn’t sold Bitcoin since January, and CleanSpark has sold only small amounts.
CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford said, “We are not ideological about hodling Bitcoin but view it as strategically important.
“We expect Bitcoin’s price to be volatile, but over the long term, we expect it to increase in value.”
Bradford mentioned that market indicators last year led CleanSpark to begin accumulating Bitcoin, resulting in a treasury of over 6,500 Bitcoin.
Besides hodling, U.S. miners are increasing their mining capacities.
CleanSpark aims to surpass 50 EH/s by 2025, Marathon plans to reach 50 EH/s by year-end, and Riot expects to achieve 41 EH/s in 2024 and 100 EH/s by 2027.
Marathon also purchases Bitcoin, buying 183.5 Bitcoin in January. Khan pointed to institutional investors entering the space as a sign of Bitcoin’s potential price increase.
Marathon holds $1.5 billion in cash and Bitcoin. “This space is not as developed as traditional industries, but it’s warming up,” Khan said.
For now, Marathon’s capital will remain highly liquid, either as cash or Bitcoin, to support its capital-intensive operations.
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Inflows into digital asset investment products have reached a record high of over $17.8 billion year-to-date (YTD), indicating a potential recovery in the cryptocurrency market.
This milestone follows a week where cryptocurrency investment products saw inflows totaling $1.44 billion.
According to CoinShares data, the YTD inflows for 2024 have soared to $17.8 billion, eclipsing the previous record of $10.6 billion set in 2021.
The majority of these inflows are from U.S.-based investors, with Switzerland also making significant purchases of digital assets. CoinShares reported:
“Regionally, the US led with US$1.3bn for the week, although the positive sentiment was seen across all other countries, most notable being Switzerland (a record this year for inflows), Hong Kong and Canada with US$58m, US$55m and US$24m respectively.”
Bitcoin experienced its fifth-largest weekly inflow on record, totaling over $1.35 billion.
This influx helped Bitcoin climb back above the critical $60,000 mark.
Conversely, short Bitcoin-related investment products saw their largest weekly outflows since April 2024, with over $8.6 million leaving these products.
READ MORE: Nigerian Court Sets Verdict Date for Binance Tax Evasion Trial
Last week’s increase in Bitcoin buying was likely triggered by a price drop, partly due to the German government selling BTC. CoinShares commented:
“We believe price weakness due to the German Government bitcoin sales and a turnaround in sentiment due to lower than expected CPI in the US prompted investors to add to positions.”
Ethereum followed Bitcoin with the second-largest inflows, amounting to over $72.1 million last week.
The surge in Ethereum inflows is likely driven by anticipation of the first spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US, which could start trading in the coming weeks.
US spot Ether ETF issuers expect to receive final comments from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) early this week, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Several issuers, including VanEck and 21Shares, have filed amended registrations this week, hoping to obtain the SEC’s final approval to list spot Ether ETFs. Currently, eight issuers are awaiting regulatory approval in the US.
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BlackRock has achieved a new milestone with over $10.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM), marking a $1.2 trillion increase from the previous year.
The world’s largest asset manager attributed this growth to significant inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
According to Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the firm’s ETFs saw record inflows at the start of 2024.
In the asset manager’s quarterly earnings report, Fink stated:
“Organic growth was driven by private markets, retail active fixed income, and surging flows into our ETFs, which had their best start to a year on record.”
BlackRock is the issuer of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF, which holds over $19.4 billion worth of Bitcoin and commands a 35.2% market share among all US Bitcoin ETFs, as reported by Dune.
The trading behaviors of asset management giants and ETF issuers like BlackRock can significantly influence Bitcoin’s price due to their substantial purchasing power.
In the second quarter of 2024, investors purchased $83 billion worth of BlackRock ETF shares, bringing the total for the year to over $150 billion.
The asset manager reported an 8% increase in revenue and an 11% increase in operating income year-over-year.
Fink credits part of BlackRock’s success to its “longstanding relationships with corporates and governments.”
READ MORE: Germany Completes Bitcoin Sell-Off Amid Market Turbulence and Mt. Gox Reimbursement Concerns
Fink further explained:
“These relationships differentiate BlackRock as a capital partner in private markets, driving unique deal flow for clients.
“We have strong sourcing capabilities, and we are transforming our private markets platform to bring even more benefits of scale and technology to our clients.”
Additionally, spot Bitcoin ETF inflows have turned positive after three weeks of outflows, aiding Bitcoin’s price recovery above $60,000.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their second consecutive week of net positive inflows, totaling over $414 million, according to Dune data.
On July 12, BlackRock saw the largest inflows among all ETF issuers, attracting over $120 million in investments, as per Farside Investors data.
Last week, Bitcoin experienced its fifth-largest weekly inflow on record, amounting to over $1.35 billion, while short Bitcoin-related investment products saw their largest weekly outflows since April 2024, totaling over $8.6 million.
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US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a robust influx on July 12, amassing over $310 million in inflows, marking their strongest performance since June 5.
According to Farside Investors data, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust led the pack with $120 million in inflows, closely followed by the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund with $115.1 million.
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF secured the third spot with $28.4 million, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust saw a rare inflow day of $23 million.
The VanEck Bitcoin Trust ETF and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF also attracted $6 million and $4 million in inflows, respectively.
Conversely, ETFs issued by Hashdex, Franklin Templeton, Valkyrie, and WisdomTree failed to register any inflows on the day.
This surge represents the largest single-day inflow since June 5, when these ETFs garnered a total of $488.1 million.
From Monday, July 8, to Friday, these funds collectively accumulated $1.04 billion in new investments.
Since their launch just over six months ago, spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated $15.8 billion in net inflows.
This total includes outflows of over $18.6 billion from Grayscale’s flagship Bitcoin product, which transitioned to a spot form following SEC approval in January.
The Hashdex Bitcoin ETF is the only other spot Bitcoin ETF besides Grayscale’s to experience net outflows, albeit a modest $2 million.
CoinGecko data shows Bitcoin has increased by 1.1% over the last 24 hours, currently trading at $57,858.
However, the cryptocurrency has experienced a 15% decline in the last month and is down 21% from its all-time high.
Looking ahead, some spot Bitcoin ETF issuers are preparing to introduce spot Ether ETFs, potentially launching as early as July 15.
Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, indicated these issuers are awaiting SEC approval of their amended S-1 registration statements following initial feedback in late June.
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Germany completed its exit from Bitcoin holdings on July 12, as reported by Arkham Intelligence.
The transaction involved transferring 3,846 Bitcoin to “Flow Traders and 139Po,” entities characterized by Arkham as likely institutional deposit or over-the-counter services.
This marked the conclusion of a series of transactions where the German government had steadily sold off tens of thousands of Bitcoin over recent weeks, primarily sourced from an asset seizure.
The substantial sell-off exerted pressure on the Bitcoin market, contributing to prices remaining below $60,000 and its 200-day exponential moving average.
Despite Germany depleting its Bitcoin reserves, another impending factor affecting market sentiment is the $9 billion Mt. Gox reimbursement plan.
This plan stems from the 2014 collapse of the exchange, coinciding with Bitcoin’s early days of trading at a few hundred dollars.
Tony Sycamore, an analyst from IG Markets, offered insights suggesting that the Mt. Gox repayments might not devastate the markets as feared.
Sycamore emphasized the complexity of market dynamics and anticipated that approximately half of the reimbursement funds could hit exchanges in July.
Nevertheless, he asserted that the market had already priced in this development, indicating that investors were aware of the upcoming reimbursements for a considerable time.
Amidst these developments, institutional investors capitalized on the market dip.
CoinShares data highlighted that U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) received $295 million in inflows during the week of July 8, reversing a trend of subdued inflows into these investment vehicles.
Overall, Germany’s final Bitcoin transaction signifies the culmination of its recent divestment strategy, contributing to ongoing market uncertainties influenced by both institutional actions and anticipated reimbursements.
As the market navigates these complexities, analysts like Sycamore believe that despite potential short-term impacts, broader market sentiments and investor behaviors are already incorporating these foreseeable developments.
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The German government’s Bitcoin wallet has decreased to 9,094 Bitcoin, only 18% of its original amount, following a series of transfers to crypto exchanges on July 11.
The wallet, holding Bitcoin seized from a film pirating website crackdown in January, has been actively transferring out billions in Bitcoin since June 19, with increased activity starting in July.
On July 11, the wallet’s balance dipped below 5,000 BTC after sending 10,620 BTC, valued at approximately $615 million, to cryptocurrency trading platforms such as Coinbase, Bitstamp, Kraken, Flow Traders, and two anonymous addresses, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.
However, some of these funds were soon transferred back to the German government wallet, bringing its Bitcoin holdings back above 9,000 BTC.
Currently, the German government holds just 18% of the 49,857 Bitcoin it seized from the film piracy website Movie2k in January.
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Arkham suspects that the two anonymous addresses ending in “139Po” and “bc1qu” are likely owned by institutional deposit or over-the-counter trading service providers, although this has not been confirmed.
This extensive sell-off has not been well-received by German lawmaker and Bitcoin activist Joana Cotar, who argued earlier in July that Bitcoin could have been adopted as a “strategic reserve currency” to protect against risks in the traditional financial system.
An Ordinals user expressed their frustration through an inscription, translating to “Taxes are robbery.”
The sell-off, coupled with concerns that Mt. Gox has begun distributing over $8 billion of Bitcoin to its creditors, has significantly contributed to a BTC price slump in recent weeks.
These bearish events have pushed the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which tracks market sentiment, into the “Extreme Fear” zone for the first time since January 2023.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $56,870, down 1.8% over the last 24 hours and 15.1% over the last month.
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A cryptocurrency wallet linked to Genesis Trading has transferred nearly $720 million worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase over the past month, indicating possible asset liquidations.
The wallet, associated with Genesis Trading, moved over 12,600 Bitcoin, valued at around $719.9 million, in the last 30 days.
These transfers mostly ranged from 500 to 700 BTC each.
According to Arkham Intelligence, the wallet’s Bitcoin balance has decreased from over 46,000 BTC a month ago to 33,356 BTC as of now.
These significant transfers occurred two months after Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, announced a settlement with Genesis.
The agreement requires Genesis to pay $2 billion to defrauded investors involved in its Earn program. The settlement also prohibits Genesis from operating in New York.
The recent transfers suggest that the Genesis Trading-labeled wallet might be preparing to repay users, given the amount of assets and the moves to Coinbase.
The wallet currently holds $2.28 billion in cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin making up $1.91 billion, followed by $364 million in Ether.
This amount exceeds the $2 billion that Genesis was ordered to pay to defrauded investors in its Earn program.
On June 14, the New York Attorney General’s office announced the recovery of over $50 million from Gemini, which will be returned to investors in its Earn program.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Remain Resilient Amid Deepest Correction of Current Price Cycle
The settlement also banned Gemini from operating any cryptocurrency lending program in New York.
James stated on X that “everyone that Gemini deceived will get their money back.” Gemini Trust assured that affected Earn users would receive “100% of the assets owed to them” within seven days.
The New York Attorney General’s office filed its lawsuit against Genesis in October 2023, later including the Digital Currency Group, its CEO Barry Silbert, and former Genesis CEO Soichiro Moro.
The lawsuit claimed Gemini defrauded 230,000 investors, including New Yorkers, through its Earn program with Genesis Global Capital and failed to disclose the associated risks.
Additionally, the NYAG filed a lawsuit against former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky for allegedly concealing the platform’s financial troubles.
Mashinsky faces criminal charges related to securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud and is set to go to trial in January 2025.
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Bitcoin approached $58,000 around the Wall Street open on July 12 as markets reacted to the latest U.S. inflation data.
Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView data indicated that Bitcoin’s price improved as the Producer Price Index (PPI) for June exceeded expectations.
The year-on-year PPI was 2.6%, higher than the forecasted 2.3% and 0.1% above the previous month.
“On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand rose 2.6 percent for the 12 months ended in June, the largest advance since moving up 2.7 percent for the 12 months ended March 2023,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Despite contrasting with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers from July 11, BTC/USD avoided a decline after the PPI release.
Instead, it saw modest gains alongside U.S. stocks, while the dollar weakened.
“So overall PPI is sticky on YoY basis if not higher due to higher prices & lack of supply,” popular trader Skew remarked on X (formerly Twitter). “Increasing energy, food and trade services prices is not a great look.”
Skew pointed out that excluding energy, food, and trade services, the index was “basically flat” and less surprising to markets.
“Initial reaction was DXY & Yields up before lower, this tells me the market is transitioning into expecting a harsh reality when demand continues to buckle,” he concluded.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Remain Resilient Amid Deepest Correction of Current Price Cycle
“NQ & ES likely recovering here with hedges coming off. End of day performance will be important.”
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) dropped 0.35% on July 12, nearing its lowest levels in over a month.
Skew also described Binance’s spot order book as “pretty healthy.” “Although orderbooks are skew to bid, need to see this translate into market flows being bid,” he noted alongside a liquidity chart.
Other traders called for a stronger move from BTC/USD to signal a longer-term recovery. Popular trader Rekt Capital identified $58,350 as a crucial level for the daily close.
“There’s the rebound Bitcoin needed and price is now challenging that Lower High resistance again,” he informed his X followers, highlighting the PPI reaction with a chart.
“Bitcoin needs to Daily Close above $58350 (black) to break the Lower High and more importantly – position itself for a rally to $60600 (blue).”
Rekt Capital reiterated that BTC/USD had been attempting to break through a downward trendline but faced rejection in recent days.
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The German government resumed selling its Bitcoin holdings on July 12, following the return of some previously transferred BTC to its Bitcoin wallet.
Arkham blockchain data indicates that the German government executed multiple transactions, transferring a total of 3,200 Bitcoin across various platforms. Bitstamp, Kraken, and Coinbase each received 400 BTC, while two unknown addresses received 1,000 BTC and 500 BTC respectively.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe speculated on X that the remaining Bitcoin, worth approximately $300 million, would likely be sold on July 12.
Historically, large sales by government entities can lead to increased market volatility. However, the careful distribution of Bitcoin across different platforms might help prevent sudden and extreme price swings.
The German government’s wallet, containing Bitcoin seized from a film pirating website in January, has transferred billions of dollars in Bitcoin since June 19, with a noticeable increase in activity at the start of July.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Surges to One-Week Highs Following US Inflation Data Surprise
Starting with 50,000 Bitcoin, the wallet has sold a significant portion of its holdings over the past month. With 5,800 Bitcoin remaining, the German government has sold 44,200 BTC — 88.4% of the original 50,000.
On July 11, the German government’s Bitcoin wallet temporarily fell below 5,000 BTC after transferring approximately $615 million worth of Bitcoin to various cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase, Bitstamp, Kraken, Flow Traders, and two unknown addresses, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham.
German lawmaker and Bitcoin advocate Joana Cotar criticized the large-scale sale of Bitcoin, suggesting that the cryptocurrency could have been utilized as a safeguard against traditional financial system risks by adopting it as a “strategic reserve currency” instead.
The recent decline in Bitcoin’s price can be attributed to several factors, including Germany’s significant sale of BTC and concerns that Mt. Gox is releasing a substantial amount of Bitcoin worth over $8 billion to its creditors.
This has led to market uncertainty and downward pressure on prices.
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