DeFi Technologies Inc., a public company traded on CBOE Canada (DEFI), has made a strategic decision to adopt Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, purchasing 110 Bitcoin, according to Newswire.ca,

This move highlights the companys confidence in Bitcoins potential as a hedge against inflation and a safeguard against monetary debasement.

Olivier Roussy Newton, CEO of DeFi Technologies, stated,

We have adopted Bitcoin as our primary treasury reserve asset, reflecting our confidence in its role as a hedge against inflation and a safe haven from monetary debasement.

In addition to this significant adoption, Valour, a subsidiary of DeFi Technologies, reported an impressive AUM of C$837 million ($607 million) as of May 31, marking a year-on-year increase of 64.9%.

Valour has also successfully repaid an additional $5 million in outstanding loans secured by BTC and ETH collateral, following a prior repayment of $19.5 million.

Valour Inc. has launched several innovative exchange-traded products (ETPs), including the Valour Internet Computer (ICP) ETP, Valour Toncoin (TON) ETP, Valour Chainlink (LINK) ETP, and the worlds first yield-bearing Bitcoin (BTC) ETP.

These ETPs highlight the companys continued innovation and financial acumen in the decentralized finance sector.

DeFi Technologies Inc.s share price has increased by 15% following the announcement, bringing its year-to-date (YTD) growth to 176%.

See the original post:

DeFi Technologies shares spike 15% in a day after it adopts Bitcoin treasury strategy - CryptoSlate

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoins rally to near a record high is reawakening animal spirits not just in the cryptocurrency market itself, but in the broader financial world that had left the digital asset sector for dead last year.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The change of heart can be seen in the improved outlook for deal flow, highlighted by Robinhood Markets Inc.s purchase of crypto exchange Bitstamp Ltd. on Thursday, to a resurgence of venture-capital investments to what some analysts are expecting to be record amount of initial public offerings of companies connected to the industry.

In the crypto market itself, theres been a notable return of the hallmarks of previous bull markets: Celebrities are once again promoting crypto, and new tokens are being created at a rate of thousands per day, with some 330,000 coins debuting in the Ethereum ecosystem in April and May alone, according to crypto data tracker Dune.

Taken all together, it demonstrates that theres nothing like rising prices to make investors forget about past financial carnage including bankruptcies of crypto exchange FTX and lender Celsius in a market thats most famous for its scandals and boom-and-bust cycles.

Investors often have short memories, said Campbell Harvey, a finance professor at Duke University. When market sentiment is high, they put extra weight on good news and tend to downplay the bad news that might have happened in the past.

Bitcoin climbed this week to within 2.5% of the all-time high of $73,798 reached in mid-March amid surging demand for recently authorized exchange-traded funds. While the bellwether digital currency is up almost 70% already this year, the gains pale in comparison to the returns of extremely speculative memecoins such as Dogwifhat and Bonk.

This years boom was kicked into high gear when the Securities and Exchange Commission approved ETFs investing directly into Bitcoin in January. Then in May, the agency made a step toward approving similar spot Ether ETFs, a move many in the industry have seen as caving to increased political pressure to legitimize crypto and create new laws that would make it easier for digital-asset companies to operate.

US Bitcoin ETFs attracted inflows for an unprecedented 18th straight day through Thursday. Net subscriptions for the group of almost a dozen products stood at $15.6 billion, taking total assets to $62.3 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Story continues

Large financial companies are wading deeper into crypto. Earlier this week, Mastercard resumed letting users of the worlds biggest crypto exchange, Binance, make purchases on its network. Binance settled with the Justice Department over anti-money laundering and other violations last year, and is still fighting charges from the SEC.

Over the past several months, we have reviewed the enhanced controls and processes that Binance has put into place, a Mastercard spokesperson said in a statement. It is based on those efforts that we have decided to allow Binance-related purchases on our network. This status is contingent on ongoing reviews.

Crypto MNA is heating up as well. This week, Bitcoin miner Core Scientific Inc. rejected an unsolicited $1 billion takeover offer from artificial intelligence startup CoreWeave Inc., just days after announcing a partnership. On Thursday, Robinhood said it will acquire Bitstamp for $200 million to expand its crypto business in Europe.

A US regulatory framework creates a velocity of innovation environment that accelerates an institutions buy-over-build decision-making and drives a robust M&A environment, Elliot Chun, partner at MNA consultant Architect Partners, said in a recent note. I will be bold and say that in May 2024, our industry officially transitioned from #TheGreatPurge and entered into #TheGreatSurge.

Crypto funds are flourishing, with more such funds launching in the first quarter than in any time since the second quarter of 2021, according to Crypto Fund Research.

Talk of new crypto IPOs is reviving, with Kraken said to be in talks for a pre-IPO funding round, while eyeing an IPO as soon as in 2025, Bloomberg reported Thursday. If crypto prices keep increasing, the next 18 months could see the biggest wave of crypto-related IPOs on record, according to Renaissance Capital, a pre-IPO researcher.

I do think that if these companies can point to explosive revenue growth or strong earnings, that will get investors interest, said Matthew Kennedy, senior market researcher with Renaissance. I suspect that the financials are there, and that investors will take them with a grain of salt they know its a cyclical business, plenty of companies are like that.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Continue reading here:

Bitcoin Rally and 'Short Memories' Reignite Everything in Crypto - Yahoo Finance

Markets June 7, 2024, 10:18AM EDT Published 1 minute earlier on

UPDATED: June 7, 2024, 10:34AM EDT

U.S. job growth increased more than expected in May, a reading that could potentially prompt the Federal Reserve to delay cutting interest rates.

On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.0% for the first time since January 2022, while non-farm payrolls (NFPs) increased by 272,000 jobs last month, surpassing economists' forecasts.

The dollar rebounded broadly in the early U.S. trading session following the stronger-than-expected employment data, while bitcoin made gains despite equity indices moving lower.

The employment data coming out of the U.S. hit risk assets. Major European and UK equity indices were red. In London, the FTSE 100 posted a 37.45-point decrease to 8,254.60 in mid-day trading.

The regional Stoxx 600 index traded up in Europe, retraced yesterday's gains and dropped 0.35% to 522.80. Meanwhile, in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 0.23%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the NASDAQ decreased by 0.42%.

Bitcoin moved lower with depressed equity markets in Friday's trading. The world's largest digital asset by market cap increased by around 0.2% in the past day and was changing hands for $71,366 at 10:08 a.m.ET., according toThe Block's Price Pages.

The European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates as expected on Thursday. The European monetary policymakers' move lowers theECBskey rate to 3.75%, down from a record high of 4%, where it has been since September 2023. It's the first time the ECB has cut rates since 2019.

The move by the ECB to cut rates comes after the Bank of Canada (BoC) lowered its policy rate to 4.75% on Wednesday, having held it at 5% since July last year.

Canada was the first G7 country to loosen monetary policy in the current cycle, followed by the ECB.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Go here to see the original:

Bitcoin rebounds from drop with equity indices as strong US jobs data poses challenge to Fed rate cuts - The Block

Nasdaq-listed medical manufacturer Semler Scientific which made headlines last month for adding Bitcoin (BTC) to its treasury has bought another $17 million worth of the asset and may raise up to $150 million to buy more.

The firms latest Bitcoin purchase was revealed in an S-3 filing to the United States securities regulator on June 6. After making its first 581 Bitcoin purchase on May 28, it now holds 828 Bitcoin, worth over $58.5 million.

Semler isnt wasting too much time, either. It announced that it can raise an additional $150 million of debt securities, with a portion of the proceeds used to buy more Bitcoin.

We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of any securities offered under this prospectus primarily for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin, the firm wrote.

In a June 6 statement, the firms CEO, Doug Murphy-Chutorian, said Semlers Bitcoin investment strategy has become the firms other top-line priority alongside its healthcare business.

Bitcoin, now Semslers primary treasury reserve asset, can serve as a reasonable inflation hedge and safe haven amid global instability, the firm said in its SEC filing.

We also believe that its digital, architectural resilience makes it preferable to gold, which has a market value that greatly exceeds the market value of bitcoin, Semler said. Given the gap in value between gold and bitcoin, we believe that bitcoin has the potential to generate outsize returns as it gains increasing acceptance as digital gold.

The firm iterated that it has no plans to purchase cryptocurrency assets other than bitcoin.

Semlers (SMLR) stock spiked 30% on news of its May 28 purchase. However, it wasnt able to pop this time around, falling 2.5% to $29.13 on June 6, Google Finance data shows.

Related: Billionaire investor Bill Miller puts 50% of net worth in Bitcoin

Japan-based investment firm Metaplanet is another firm that has followed MicroStrategys Bitcoin playbook.

It first bought $6.5 million of Bitcoin on April 8 and has bought multiple purchases since, totaling 117.7 Bitcoin or $8.3 million at current prices.

Metaplanets last Bitcoin purchase on May 22 contributed to its being the best-performing stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for two consecutive days.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

See the original post:

Semler Scientific now holds 828 Bitcoin and has $150M plan to buy more - Cointelegraph

The chief executive of crypto exchange Abra believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is the antidote to hundreds of years of monetary debasement.

In a new Kitco News interview, Bill Barhydt says that historys greatest powers built their empires with sound monetary policy.

But the Abra CEO says world powers eventually betray the trust of its people by resorting to currency devaluation.

After World War II, the intent was there would be a certain amount of gold, countries would give us their gold to the victor goes the spoils. We would print dollars commensurate with a certain value of that gold, and you knew how much your money was worth, and the underlying assets were protected.

That was the grand bargain.

Throughout history, every world power has reneged on that or a similar bargain, time after time.

According to Barhydt, Bitcoin fixes the problem of currency debasement that has plagued powerful nations for centuries. Barhydt notes that BTCs finite supply, predictable inflation and decentralization can serve as the foundation of a strong global financial system.

When you look at it from that perspective, you could actually make a case now where: I get the math, the math proves that its out there; I get the scalability, because Satoshi said that over time you could actually put more data through the blockchain; and I get the decentralization of having clusters of miners

When I brought it all together I was like, This is exactly how money should work. It was incredible This is it. If the world can figure this out what this is really all about, it will change how banking works

This network belongs to the people. You cant shut it off. Thats the last piece of the puzzle. If you have no off switch and it belongs to the people, you now have the answer to the hundreds-year-old problem, which is how do you get rid of this fiat, this rule-by-decree monetary model that weve had for hundreds of years.

Don't Miss a Beat Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox Check Price Action Follow us on X, Facebook and Telegram Surf The Daily Hodl Mix

Generated Image: DALLE3

View original post here:

Abra CEO Says Bitcoin Is a Solution to Centuries-Old Problem of Fiat Currency and Rule by Decree - The Daily Hodl

Investing.com - and have been under severe pressure since Friday's U.S. jobs data, which exceeded expectations, and dampened hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.

Meanwhile, this price drop following the U.S. employment report offers a good buying opportunity, according to Singapore-based trading firm QCP Capital.

Invest with Investing Pro and be part of the success in the cryptocurrency world. Take advantage of the significant growth opportunities in the cryptocurrency world through promising crypto stocks, with an additional discount when subscribing using code SAPRO2. Click here to subscribe.

Non-farm payroll data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs in May, significantly higher than the estimated 182,000 jobs, and much more than the downwardly revised reading of 165,000 jobs in April. While the unemployment rate rose to 4%, the average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% month-on-month, above the expectations of 0.3%.

Markets immediately reduced the probability of a 25-basis point Federal Reserve rate cut in September to 60% from 85%, leading to a decline in risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

JP Morgan and Citi canceled their forecasts for a Federal Reserve rate cut in July, with some analysts putting rate hikes or further liquidity tightening back on the agenda. Bitcoin, which seemed poised to break the $72,000 barrier, fell by almost 3% to $68,400. Ethereum followed Bitcoin's lead.

QCP Capital said the Federal Reserve would struggle to keep interest rates high while other central banks are lowering borrowing costs.

The report stated: "The non-farm payroll report surprised us, as it was confusing enough to stimulate risk aversion ahead of U.S. inflation numbers and this week's Federal Reserve meeting."

"We agree that this is a good buying opportunity as markets will increasingly price in at least one Federal Reserve rate cut. It will be difficult for the U.S. to ignore this as the rest of the world continues to cut interest rates."

The European Central Bank and Bank of Canada cut interest rates last week, as the Group of Seven (G7) began a cycle of monetary easing.

Other central banks, including the Federal Reserve, may soon join the fray by cutting interest rates, leading to increased market liquidity, which inadvertently boosts demand for alternative investments like cryptocurrencies.

Go here to read the rest:

Bitcoin and Ethereum down; Is now the time to buy? By Investing.com - Investing.com

Bitcoin and Ethereum user balances have dropped to levels not seen since 2020.

Glassnode data revealed that user balances of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on centralized exchanges reached a four-year low as investors held out for higher prices in a bull market.

BTC balances dipped to below 2.3 million coins, valued at around $160 billion, while ETH balances have dropped below 16 million, amounting to less than $59 billion.

The amount of BTC and ETH on exchanges has been in a downtrend since before July 2020, per Glassnode.Data confirmed that users continued to withdraw assets from these platforms following the pandemic, through the previous 2021 peak, during the 2022 Terra-FTX contagion, and even after spot BTC ETFs were approved.

The four-year pattern suggests that crypto users have adopted a bullish long-term outlook, expressing confidence in the future appreciation of these assets regardless of market cycles.

After the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, inflation also rocked world economies and incentivized investors to station capital in technologically sound vehicles. Bitcoins hard-capped supply and immutable design bolstered its status as an inflation hedge and sovereign nations like El Salvador have adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

The bullish thesis is perhaps solidified even further as Wall Street behemoths like BlackRock and Fidelity drove institutional demand through spot BTC ETFs. Companies like MicroStrategy under BTC maxi Michael Saylor have also parked billions in the top digital asset.

As the second-largest crypto and top altcoin asset, ETH commands its own bullish thesis as the leading substitute for BTC. The token powers the biggest decentralized finance (defi) ecosystem worth nearly $70 billion per DefiLlama.

In 2020, developers launched the Beacon chain, which kicked off the eventual transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). The move unlocked Ether staking, a process of locking up ETH for network security and passive yield.

At press time, over 27% of Ethereums supply was staked. In other words, users have deposited over $119 billion worth of ETH in staking providers like Coinbase, Lido, and EigenLayer.

The hype around spot ETH ETF approvals, defi growth, and staking surges has culminated in a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency and has further encouraged users to hold on for dear life, otherwise known in the crypto community as hodl.

Excerpt from:

Bitcoin, Ethereum exchange balances at 4-year low - crypto.news

The employment market in the U.S. remained strong in May with the government reporting the addition of 272,000 jobs, far past estimates for just 185,000 and well ahead of April's 165,000 (revised from a previously reported 175,000).

The May unemployment rate was 4.0% versus estimates for 3.9% and April's 3.9%.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) fell sharply from a two-month high just shy of $72,000 in the minutes following the numbers. At press time, BTC was changing hands at $70,900, down 0.5% over the past 24 hours.

Wage data from this morning's report shows average hourly earnings rising 0.4% in May versus forecasts for 0.3% and April's 0.2%. On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings were higher by 4.1% versus estimates for 3.9% and April's 4.0%.

After rising through the first part of 2024, interest rates have been on a downtrend over about the last five weeks as some recent U.S. economic data had pointed to a slowdown in both economic growth and inflation the 10-year Treasury yield ahead of this morning's numbers was at 4.30% versus a 2024 high of 4.71% in late April.

The move down in rates has been a boon for risk assets, with the major U.S. stock market averages surging to record highs and the price of bitcoin rising from about the $60,000 level to within close range of its record high just above $73,500.

Ideas that the major Western economies are about to fully enter a monetary easing cycle received further merit this week when both the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank slashed their respective benchmark interest rates for the first time in several years. As for the U.S., the odds of a Fed rate cut have risen sharply of late, with investors prior to this morning's report having priced in about a 55% chance of a move on or before the bank's September policy meeting.

With today's strong numbers, much of this thinking is likely to be reversed in at least the short term. In addition to bitcoin's swift pullback, the 10-year Treasury yield has shot higher by 12 basis points to 4.42% and U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a lower open. Checking other indicators, the U.S. dollar has surged 0.5% and gold has tumbled more than 2%.

Bloomberg Chief Economist Anna Wong has an interesting contrary take on the data, suggesting the rise in the unemployment rate is the more important indicator of the reality of the employment situation. "[The government] model for estimating business births and deaths which added 231,000 jobs to the nonfarm-payrolls print in May is lagging the reality of surging establishment closures and falling business formation. We think the underlying pace of current job gains is likely less than 100,000 per month."

Read more here:

U.S. Added 272K Jobs in May, Blowing Past Estimates; Bitcoin Pulls Back From 2-Month High - CoinDesk

Bitcoin price is back to trading below the pivotal $70,000 after losing ground over the weekend. Last week was bullish for BTCalso altcoins and especially among meme coins like Pepe, Notcoin, and GameStop.

Should Bitcoin secure support at $68,000, interest in the gigantic coin will grow significantly as traders look forward to the next attempt to reach new all-time highs.

The Federal Open Markets Committee will begin its sitting on Tuesday, June 11 to deliberate key economic policies touching on inflation and interest rates. Similarly, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report used to gauge the inflation trend will be released on June 12.

Economists project the CPI at 3.4% to match the previous 3.4%. This data will help central bank officials in the FOMC to affirm the banks outlook on the economy.

Traders should anticipate volatility during the week, which calls for caution among investors. However, the FOMC meeting is unlikely to result in a change in interest rates.

Market watchers say that the Fed could make the first interest rate cut in September.

The largest cryptocurrency hovered at $65,375 on Monday below key indicators such as the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) in blue and the 50-day EMA in red on the four-hour chart.

Bitcoin also sits below the Bollinger bands middle boundary. Nevertheless, it is important to pay attention to the bands narrowing. In other words, BTC is getting ready for a breakout whose direction may be decided later in the week as the market reacts to the CPI report and the FOMC meeting.

The more the Bollinger bands converge, the larger the breakout could be. Hence, a break above resistance at $69,642 may affirm the uptrend and increase the chances of a return above $70,000.

Remember Bitcoin price prediction recently breached the ascending trend lines support. This was to the disadvantage of the bullsand if this level goes unreclaimed for much longer, selling pressure will increase. Such an outcome may push BTC below $68,000 and bring support at $66,000 within reach.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) reinforces the bearish grip on the trend but bulls still have time to fight for control as the RSI moves sideways at 45. Should the sliding continue into the oversold region, the path of least resistance will lean more to the south.

An uptrend will start to build for a breakout above $70,000 backed by the Bollinger bands constriction.

Considering the bullish outlook of Bitcoin ETFs with a daily total net inflow of $139 million on Friday, market sentiment remains positive. Moreover, the Bitcoin futures market recently hit a new record high above $37.5 billion, cementing the bullish outlook.

Related Articles

Originally posted here:

Bitcoin Price: Heres When BTC Could Hit New All-Time High - CoinGape

Share this article

Bitcoins perpetual futures markets are currently experiencing high funding rates, signaling a premium for long positions and further correction for spot prices, according to the Bitfinex Alpha reports latest edition.

The rising Bitcoin CME futures open interest, reaching $11.4 billion as of June 4th, parallels the March all-time highs before a notable price correction. Traders appear to be leveraging the basis arbitrage opportunity, shorting Bitcoin on the open market while gaining spot exposure through ETFs, aiming to profit from futures and spot market price discrepancies.

Despite 20 consecutive days of ETF inflows since May 10, potential disruptions loom with the upcoming US Consumer Price Index report and the US Federal Open Market Committees interest rate discussions set to happen this week.

Last week, Bitcoins price fluctuated, reaching over $71,500 and then correcting to local lows around $68,500. Major altcoins experienced declines, with Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) dropping 7.5% and 12.1%, respectively.

The recent leverage flush saw significant liquidations in altcoin leveraged longs, with Coinglass data showing Bitcoin open interest at an all-time high of $36.8 billion on June 6th.

Nevertheless, short-term holders have increased their Bitcoin activity, with holdings peaking at 3.4 million BTC in April. Long-term holders, on the other hand, are demonstrating confidence by accumulating Bitcoin, with the inactive supply for one-year holders remaining stable.

Bitcoin whales are also on an accumulation spree, with their balance reaching a new historical high.

Therefore, although derivatives data suggest a price pullback in the short term, factors such as increased ETF buying activity, reduced selling pressure from long-term holders, and improved liquidity could potentially catalyze Bitcoins upward movement in the long term.

Share this article

The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

Crypto Briefing may augment articles with AI-generated content created by Crypto Briefings own proprietary AI platform. We use AI as a tool to deliver fast, valuable and actionable information without losing the insight - and oversight - of experienced crypto natives. All AI augmented content is carefully reviewed, including for factural accuracy, by our editors and writers, and always draws from multiple primary and secondary sources when available to create our stories and articles.

You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

See full terms and conditions.

Continue reading here:

Bitcoin futures hint at another market correction after FOMC meeting - Crypto Briefing