The benchmark S&P 500 slipped 0.1% lower, as did the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. Stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher. In cryptocurrency news, Bitcoin continued to reach record highs on Monday, exceeding $72,000 for the first time. The cryptocurrency managed to reach $72,500 during early trading bringing its gains for the year to 65%.

With the CPI report due on Tuesday, it is expected to give the Federal Reserve a better idea of whether it is in a position to introduce interest rate cuts and the timeline for such action. February’s jobs report, released last week, provided little indication of monetary policy trajectory after the labor market remained stronger than expected.

The post Stocks Stagnate as Bitcoin Extends Record Rally appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“With the first day of ETF trading behind us, it already feels like the crypto markets have moved on to looking toward the next narrative,” Chris Newhouse, DeFi analyst at Cumberland Labs observed, suggesting that this was simply a fad. SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci argued, however, that the cryptocurrency’s slump had more to do with the large-scale sales of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares. According to Scaramucci, shareholders opted to move on to alternative ETFs with lower fees.

Data from Bloomberg showed that around $720 million was invested in the 10 Bitcoin ETFs on the day that they began trading. Almost $240 million flowed through the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, followed by the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and the iShares Bitcoin Trust.

The post Bitcoin Falls Below $42,000 as ETF Optimism Fades appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Under Saylor’s guidance, Microstrategy started accumulating large amounts of Bitcoin in 2021. While the company had some rough times due to this strategy, which led to Saylor giving up his CEO role, it looks like it is finally paying off.

After dropping under 20K early in the year, Bitcoin enjoyed a steady rise in recent months. It surpassed the 30K mark in October and reached $37,885 per coin last month, its highest since April 2022.

As a result, Microstrategy’s stock has been on an upward trajectory and closed at $524.20 per share on Friday. The last time the company’s shares were above $500 was back in December 2021 before reaching a low of $141.57 in late 2022.

Microstrategy is believed to have 158,400 Bitcoins in its portfolio, with its holdings being valued at around $5.6 billion. The business intelligence company purchased its coins for an average price of $29,803, meaning its investment resulted in close to $1 billion in profit at the moment.

The post Microstrategy Stock Reaches Two-Year-High Thanks to Surging Bitcoin Prices appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

BlackRock, the world’s largest investment manager, recently announced its decision to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would be focused on Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related stocks. Following in BlackRock’s footsteps is Deutsche Bank, which revealed its intention to operate a crypto custody business to hold digital assets for its clients.

Such movements have boosted Bitcoin’s value, with the world’s most valuable digital currency rising to $31,389 on Friday. This comes after Bitcoin reached the $30,000 mark for the first time since April.

Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities are also looking to get a foothold in the crypto market, partnering to launch a new cryptocurrency exchange.

The Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month filed lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, two of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, after they allowed digital currencies onto their platforms that were not yet registered with the SEC. Despite this pressure, cryptocurrencies have continued to rise on the back of heightened support from traditional banking institutions. Total market capitalization for crypto assets reached $1.2 trillion on Friday; a 14% rise from the previous week.

The post Banking Majors Prop Up Cryptocurrency Amid Rising Lawsuits appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The recent crypto rise follows a wave of interest in digital currencies from traditional banking and investment institutions. This includes the recent unveiling of the digital-asset exchange, EDX Markets, which has received backing from the likes of Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Charles Schwab Corp.

“The rally is backed by institutional demand,” Hayden Hughes, co-founder of social-trading platform Alpha Impact observed. “The BlackRock announcement on a Bitcoin ETF, plus EDX Markets, gave Bitcoin a boost on hopes that traditional institutions will add depth to the crypto market.” BlackRock Inc. and WisdomTree Inc. both applied to launch their own US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Recent interest in cryptocurrencies from traditional banking firms is unexpected given a recent crackdown from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This included lawsuits against exchange operators  Binance Holdings Ltd. and Coinbase Global Inc.

WisdomTree’s most recent effort to launch a Bitcoin ETF comes after the company had its previous bid rejected. The company’s second filing comes after BlackRock submitted its own filing on June 15.

The post Bitcoin Rises for Sixth Straight Week as Financial Giants Back Crypto appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, Bitcoin will reach a price of $100,000 by the end of 2024.

“While sources of uncertainty remain, we think the pathway to the $100,000 level is becoming clearer,” Kendrick wrote in this week’s note via Reuters.

Kendrick based his prediction on crypto mining’s increase in profitability, the recent banking crisis in the United States, and the fact that the Federal Reserve will likely end its aggressive policy of hiking interest rates in the near future. He also points out that European Union’s steps toward regulating the cryptocurrency market will also benefit Bitcoin.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a huge rise has been predicted for Bitcoin. After a crypto boom during the pandemic, a number of analysts believed Bitcoin would easily surpass the $100,000 mark in 2022, but the cryptocurrency actually took a huge hit.

 Bitcoin reached $30,000 at one point last week for the first time in more than 10 months. It has since come down and is currently trading at around $27,000.

The post Standard Chartered Predicts Bitcoin Will Be Worth $100,000 By the End of 2024 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Bitcoin reached $30,382.10 early on Tuesday, and everything points out that the surge isn’t over. This is the first time since June 2022 that Bitcoin was worth more than $30K. Its price increased more than 80 percent year-to-date. 

Other cryptocurrencies benefited from Bitcoin’s surge as well. For example, Ethereum jumped more than 2 percent and is heading toward the $2K mark for the first time since May, while Ripple, Cardano, and Dogecoin are also trending.

According to analysts, the reason why investors are jumping on the cryptocurrency train again has a lot to do with expectations that the Federal Reserve is ready to walk back on its aggressive interest rate hikes. With the recent banking crisis that resulted in the collapse of several banks, many believe that the Fed will not want to put added pressure on the banking sector.

“The reason behind the broad-based rally in crypto is traders’ optimism toward central banks’ monetary policy,” Tina Teng, markets analyst at CMC Markets, told Reuters.

The post Bitcoin Surges Past $30K for The First Time in 10 Months appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Speaking with Kitco News, O’Leary was asked whether he expects the crypto market to endure another crisis similar to the one it experienced when the cryptocurrency exchange FTX went bankrupt. After FTX collapsed, many investors went into a cryptocurrency sell-off, only for the crypto market to bounce back again. 

“If you’re asking me will there be another meltdown to zero? Absolutely, 100% it’ll happen and it’ll keep happening over and over and over again,” O’Leary responded.

O’Leary isn’t totally out on crypto, as he returns to the market anytime there is a dip.

“I have been going back into the crypto markets lately. Anytime Bitcoin drops below $17,000, I add to our positions there,” he explained.

O’Leary added that the entirety of his cryptocurrency investments is in the Canadian market, where the exchanges are heavily regulated. He also revealed that cryptocurrency is his way of hedging against inflation alongside gold.

 After plummeting to under $16K at one point in November, Bitcoin is close to doubling in value in 2023. The coin is currently trading at around $27,000, making it close to 70 percent up year to date. 

The post Kevin O’Leary Says He’s Expecting Another Crypto Fallout But Isn’t Out On Bitcoin appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Fed recently issued a statement confirming that both insured and uninsured depositors of SVB will be provided help that would ensure “full protect” of their deposits. The decision has since been extended to the Signature depositors.

Bitcoin traded below $21,000 until Sunday before starting to surge following the Fed’s statement. It moved past $22,000 until Monday morning and briefly topped $26,000 at one point on Tuesday. It is currently hovering around $24,787.10, its highest price since mid-February. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is almost 50 percent up year to date.

Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, also experienced a surge in value. It traded at around $1,705 per coin at one point, marking its highest price in 2023. Just like Bitcoin, Ethereum also recovered after a huge drop in value in late 2022 and is currently 41.85 percent up year-to-date.

The rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies saw the crypto market hitting $1 trillion in value. However, this is still almost 40 percent less than it had one year ago.

The post Bitcoin Surging After Fed Decides to Protect SVB and Signature Depositors appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

So far this week, the dollar index declined by 0.5%, making for its largest percentage fall since January 6. The euro rose 0.3% against the dollar to $1.0628, recovering from its almost two-month low of $1.0533. The sterling advanced 0.7% against the dollar to $1.2032, putting itself on course for a 0.4% gain for the week. This marks the pound’s best weekly performance since the work week ending January 20.

According to analysts, the dollar’s decline comes as optimistic U.S. economic data has boosted investors’ hopes of a higher terminal fed funds rate.

Bitcoin plunged by 4.9% to $22,306, just above its two-and-a-half-week low of $22,000. Other cryptocurrencies followed suit, with Ether dropping 5.4% to $1,559. The cryptocurrency decline comes as the Silvergate Bank crisis worsens, leading to industry leaders such as Coinbase Global and Galaxy Digital dropping the lender as their banking partner.

The post Dollar Heads for Largest Weekly Loss Since January as Bitcoin Falls appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The benchmark S&P 500 slipped 0.1% lower, as did the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. Stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher. In cryptocurrency news, Bitcoin continued to reach record highs on Monday, exceeding $72,000 for the first time. The cryptocurrency managed to reach $72,500 during early trading bringing its gains for the year to 65%.

With the CPI report due on Tuesday, it is expected to give the Federal Reserve a better idea of whether it is in a position to introduce interest rate cuts and the timeline for such action. February’s jobs report, released last week, provided little indication of monetary policy trajectory after the labor market remained stronger than expected.

The post Stocks Stagnate as Bitcoin Extends Record Rally appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

“With the first day of ETF trading behind us, it already feels like the crypto markets have moved on to looking toward the next narrative,” Chris Newhouse, DeFi analyst at Cumberland Labs observed, suggesting that this was simply a fad. SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci argued, however, that the cryptocurrency’s slump had more to do with the large-scale sales of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares. According to Scaramucci, shareholders opted to move on to alternative ETFs with lower fees.

Data from Bloomberg showed that around $720 million was invested in the 10 Bitcoin ETFs on the day that they began trading. Almost $240 million flowed through the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, followed by the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and the iShares Bitcoin Trust.

The post Bitcoin Falls Below $42,000 as ETF Optimism Fades appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Under Saylor’s guidance, Microstrategy started accumulating large amounts of Bitcoin in 2021. While the company had some rough times due to this strategy, which led to Saylor giving up his CEO role, it looks like it is finally paying off.

After dropping under 20K early in the year, Bitcoin enjoyed a steady rise in recent months. It surpassed the 30K mark in October and reached $37,885 per coin last month, its highest since April 2022.

As a result, Microstrategy’s stock has been on an upward trajectory and closed at $524.20 per share on Friday. The last time the company’s shares were above $500 was back in December 2021 before reaching a low of $141.57 in late 2022.

Microstrategy is believed to have 158,400 Bitcoins in its portfolio, with its holdings being valued at around $5.6 billion. The business intelligence company purchased its coins for an average price of $29,803, meaning its investment resulted in close to $1 billion in profit at the moment.

The post Microstrategy Stock Reaches Two-Year-High Thanks to Surging Bitcoin Prices appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

BlackRock, the world’s largest investment manager, recently announced its decision to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would be focused on Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related stocks. Following in BlackRock’s footsteps is Deutsche Bank, which revealed its intention to operate a crypto custody business to hold digital assets for its clients.

Such movements have boosted Bitcoin’s value, with the world’s most valuable digital currency rising to $31,389 on Friday. This comes after Bitcoin reached the $30,000 mark for the first time since April.

Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities are also looking to get a foothold in the crypto market, partnering to launch a new cryptocurrency exchange.

The Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month filed lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, two of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, after they allowed digital currencies onto their platforms that were not yet registered with the SEC. Despite this pressure, cryptocurrencies have continued to rise on the back of heightened support from traditional banking institutions. Total market capitalization for crypto assets reached $1.2 trillion on Friday; a 14% rise from the previous week.

The post Banking Majors Prop Up Cryptocurrency Amid Rising Lawsuits appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The recent crypto rise follows a wave of interest in digital currencies from traditional banking and investment institutions. This includes the recent unveiling of the digital-asset exchange, EDX Markets, which has received backing from the likes of Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Charles Schwab Corp.

“The rally is backed by institutional demand,” Hayden Hughes, co-founder of social-trading platform Alpha Impact observed. “The BlackRock announcement on a Bitcoin ETF, plus EDX Markets, gave Bitcoin a boost on hopes that traditional institutions will add depth to the crypto market.” BlackRock Inc. and WisdomTree Inc. both applied to launch their own US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Recent interest in cryptocurrencies from traditional banking firms is unexpected given a recent crackdown from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This included lawsuits against exchange operators  Binance Holdings Ltd. and Coinbase Global Inc.

WisdomTree’s most recent effort to launch a Bitcoin ETF comes after the company had its previous bid rejected. The company’s second filing comes after BlackRock submitted its own filing on June 15.

The post Bitcoin Rises for Sixth Straight Week as Financial Giants Back Crypto appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

According to Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, Bitcoin will reach a price of $100,000 by the end of 2024.

“While sources of uncertainty remain, we think the pathway to the $100,000 level is becoming clearer,” Kendrick wrote in this week’s note via Reuters.

Kendrick based his prediction on crypto mining’s increase in profitability, the recent banking crisis in the United States, and the fact that the Federal Reserve will likely end its aggressive policy of hiking interest rates in the near future. He also points out that European Union’s steps toward regulating the cryptocurrency market will also benefit Bitcoin.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a huge rise has been predicted for Bitcoin. After a crypto boom during the pandemic, a number of analysts believed Bitcoin would easily surpass the $100,000 mark in 2022, but the cryptocurrency actually took a huge hit.

 Bitcoin reached $30,000 at one point last week for the first time in more than 10 months. It has since come down and is currently trading at around $27,000.

The post Standard Chartered Predicts Bitcoin Will Be Worth $100,000 By the End of 2024 appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Bitcoin reached $30,382.10 early on Tuesday, and everything points out that the surge isn’t over. This is the first time since June 2022 that Bitcoin was worth more than $30K. Its price increased more than 80 percent year-to-date. 

Other cryptocurrencies benefited from Bitcoin’s surge as well. For example, Ethereum jumped more than 2 percent and is heading toward the $2K mark for the first time since May, while Ripple, Cardano, and Dogecoin are also trending.

According to analysts, the reason why investors are jumping on the cryptocurrency train again has a lot to do with expectations that the Federal Reserve is ready to walk back on its aggressive interest rate hikes. With the recent banking crisis that resulted in the collapse of several banks, many believe that the Fed will not want to put added pressure on the banking sector.

“The reason behind the broad-based rally in crypto is traders’ optimism toward central banks’ monetary policy,” Tina Teng, markets analyst at CMC Markets, told Reuters.

The post Bitcoin Surges Past $30K for The First Time in 10 Months appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Speaking with Kitco News, O’Leary was asked whether he expects the crypto market to endure another crisis similar to the one it experienced when the cryptocurrency exchange FTX went bankrupt. After FTX collapsed, many investors went into a cryptocurrency sell-off, only for the crypto market to bounce back again. 

“If you’re asking me will there be another meltdown to zero? Absolutely, 100% it’ll happen and it’ll keep happening over and over and over again,” O’Leary responded.

O’Leary isn’t totally out on crypto, as he returns to the market anytime there is a dip.

“I have been going back into the crypto markets lately. Anytime Bitcoin drops below $17,000, I add to our positions there,” he explained.

O’Leary added that the entirety of his cryptocurrency investments is in the Canadian market, where the exchanges are heavily regulated. He also revealed that cryptocurrency is his way of hedging against inflation alongside gold.

 After plummeting to under $16K at one point in November, Bitcoin is close to doubling in value in 2023. The coin is currently trading at around $27,000, making it close to 70 percent up year to date. 

The post Kevin O’Leary Says He’s Expecting Another Crypto Fallout But Isn’t Out On Bitcoin appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Fed recently issued a statement confirming that both insured and uninsured depositors of SVB will be provided help that would ensure “full protect” of their deposits. The decision has since been extended to the Signature depositors.

Bitcoin traded below $21,000 until Sunday before starting to surge following the Fed’s statement. It moved past $22,000 until Monday morning and briefly topped $26,000 at one point on Tuesday. It is currently hovering around $24,787.10, its highest price since mid-February. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is almost 50 percent up year to date.

Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, also experienced a surge in value. It traded at around $1,705 per coin at one point, marking its highest price in 2023. Just like Bitcoin, Ethereum also recovered after a huge drop in value in late 2022 and is currently 41.85 percent up year-to-date.

The rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies saw the crypto market hitting $1 trillion in value. However, this is still almost 40 percent less than it had one year ago.

The post Bitcoin Surging After Fed Decides to Protect SVB and Signature Depositors appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

So far this week, the dollar index declined by 0.5%, making for its largest percentage fall since January 6. The euro rose 0.3% against the dollar to $1.0628, recovering from its almost two-month low of $1.0533. The sterling advanced 0.7% against the dollar to $1.2032, putting itself on course for a 0.4% gain for the week. This marks the pound’s best weekly performance since the work week ending January 20.

According to analysts, the dollar’s decline comes as optimistic U.S. economic data has boosted investors’ hopes of a higher terminal fed funds rate.

Bitcoin plunged by 4.9% to $22,306, just above its two-and-a-half-week low of $22,000. Other cryptocurrencies followed suit, with Ether dropping 5.4% to $1,559. The cryptocurrency decline comes as the Silvergate Bank crisis worsens, leading to industry leaders such as Coinbase Global and Galaxy Digital dropping the lender as their banking partner.

The post Dollar Heads for Largest Weekly Loss Since January as Bitcoin Falls appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.