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The News Room
MicroStrategy Acquires 12,000 More BTC With Convertible Senior Notes Proceeds
MicroStrategy has expanded its Bitcoin holdings by purchasing an additional 12,000 BTC, leveraging the $782 million generated from its latest convertible debt offering. The company, under the leadership of Bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor, now controls 205,000 BTC, valued at approximately $14.7 billion. This recent acquisition, made at an average price of about $68,477 per coin, was financed through the proceeds of the debt offering and supplementary cash resources, amounting to a total investment of $821.7 million. Initially aiming to raise $600 million, MicroStrategy increased its funding target to $700 million for this purpose. Following the news of this acquisition and Bitcoin’s surge to a new all-time high of over $72,000, MicroStrategy's stock price rose by nearly 10% to $1,560 in pre-market trading.
London Stock Exchange to Welcome Bitcoin and Ether ETNs, Aiming for Q2 Launch
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is set to open applications for the admission of Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded notes (ETNs) starting in the second quarter of this year, aiming to cater to professional investors. This decision aligns with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority's stance of not opposing Recognized Investment Exchanges' efforts to introduce a listed market segment for cryptocurrency-backed ETNs. ETNs, which are debt securities offering exposure to underlying assets, enable investors to engage in securities tracking crypto assets during London's trading hours. The LSE's initiative, encouraged by the significant traction U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have gained since their inception in January, marks a significant step in integrating cryptocurrencies into mainstream financial markets. The exact launch date for these Crypto ETNs is yet to be confirmed, and the LSE advises prospective issuers to engage early to avoid admission delays.
Optimism Foundation to Sell $89 Million Worth of Governance Tokens in Private Sale
The Optimism Foundation has announced a private sale of approximately 19.5 million of its governance tokens, valued at over $89 million, without disclosing the buyer or sale terms. These tokens, part of the Foundation's original working budget and deriving from the unallocated portion of the OP token treasury, will be locked up for two years but can still be delegated for governance votes. This sale follows a previous transaction in September 2023, where 116 million OP tokens were sold for over $160 million. The sale has sparked criticism within the Ethereum community for its lack of transparency, with notable figures expressing their discontent on social media. Despite mixed reactions, Optimism's OP token price has seen a nearly 3% increase over the last 24 hours.
Trading Desk Insights
Bitcoin surged on Monday, reaching a new all-time high above $72,000 following the announcement by the British financial watchdog permitting exchanges to list cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs) for the first time. The positive momentum of BTC Spot ETFs continues to drive price action. BTC solidifies its position among the top assets by market cap, now valued at $1.4 trillion, surpassing silver to claim the title of the world's eighth most valuable asset. With a valuation just shy of $1.7 trillion, the next target for BTC's ascent is Google parent Alphabet, currently ranked seventh.
Reviewing the ETF landscape, the first two months have showcased impressive growth, with ten bitcoin ETFs amassing over $55 billion in assets and $110 billion in trading volume. Notably, the nine BTC ETFs excluding GBTC have surpassed GBTC in terms of holdings, while IBIT has overtaken MSTR. This progress within just eight weeks is commendable.
In regulatory news, the Financial Conduct Authority announced its non-objection to recognized investment exchanges creating a U.K.-listed market segment for crypto-backed exchange-traded notes (ETNs), accessible exclusively to professional investors. Retail investors are barred from purchasing crypto-linked ETNs or derivatives due to perceived high risk.
Digital asset investment products experienced record weekly inflows of $2.7 billion, bringing year-to-date inflows to $10.3 billion, nearing the 2021 record of $10.6 billion.
MicroStrategy increased its BTC holdings by acquiring an additional 12,000 BTC for approximately $821.7 million.
Furthermore, Deribit is set to launch options on three altcoins—Solana, Ripple, and Polygon—using USDC as the settlement currency for all new altcoin option markets.
In the U.S. stock market, Monday witnessed a decline, extending losses from the previous week as investors anticipated fresh inflation data. Nvidia retreated by around 1%, while Meta faced challenges, with the Facebook parent company tumbling over 4%.
Traders are gearing up for the release of February's consumer and producer price indexes, scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. These reports are crucial ahead of the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting.
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