Yesterday, MicroStrategy expanded its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings with the acquisition of 16,130 BTC tokens worth around $593.3 million, at an average purchase price of $36,785 per BTC. This purchase has increased their total BTC holdings to an impressive 174,530 coins, valued at approximately $5.28 billion. Michael Saylor, the co-founder of MicroStrategy, is known for his bullish predictions on BTC and believes a BTC ETF approval could boost the price of the market leader significantly.
In related news, Swiss asset manager Pando Asset has filed for approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF with the SEC, adding to the growing list of firms seeking approval. The SEC has also held meetings with Invesco and BlackRock regarding some lingering concerns about the ETFs. As for Bitcoin's price, it was up over 1% at press time, with technical indicators suggesting potential further gains in the coming couple of days.
MicroStrategy Stocks up on Thousands of BTC Tokens
The business intelligence firm MicroStrategy announced the acquisition of an additional 16,130 BTC in an X post yesterday. The transaction, which took place between Nov. 1 and Nov. 29, amounted to approximately $593.3 million, with an average purchase price of $36,785 per BTC token. This latest purchase bolstered MicroStrategy's already impressive BTC holdings, which now stands at a total of 174,530 coins. The tokens were acquired at an average price of $30,252 per BTC, including fees and expenses, resulting in a total investment of a staggering $5.28 billion.
The co-founder of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, is a notorious fan of the cryptocurrency market leader, and has publicly shared many bullish BTC price predictions. This could very likely be one of the reasons behind this latest large scale purchase of BTC. Some of his bullish predictions have also been based on the upcoming "halving" event and potential approval of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). He believes that these developments will increase demand for BTC while simultaneously decreasing its supply, driving up its value.
Another Firm Seeks Spot BTC ETF Approval
Swiss asset manager, Pando Asset, has joined the growing list of firms seeking approval for a Spot Bitcoin ETF. On Wednesday, Pando Asset filed an S-1 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), marking a significant step toward bringing its proposed Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust to the market. If approved, this ETF would be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange, with the Coinbase exchange serving as the custodian. Pando Asset is no stranger to the cryptocurrency market, as it already offers exchange-traded products that track the prices of major cryptocurrencies to European traders on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
The anticipation for the first-ever spot cryptocurrency ETF has been a palpable force in the industry over the past few months, but the SEC has yet to approve one. To make things worse, the regulator has taken steps to delay other applications from prominent asset management giants like BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares & Ark Invest, Bitwise, VanEck, Wisdomtree, Invesco, Valkyrie, Global X, Hashdex, and Franklin Templeton.
On the bright side, just earlier this week, the SEC moved applications from Franklin Templeton and Hashdex into a public comment period. This move has led many in the industry to speculate that the agency may be accelerating the pace of its review process, potentially bringing the first Spot Bitcoin ETF approval closer to a reality.
SEC Meets With Invesco And BlackRock
On Tuesday, the SEC held fresh meetings with representatives from Invesco and BlackRock . According to a presentation provided by BlackRock, their Nov. 20 meeting with the SEC's Trading & Markets staff revealed that the SEC had lingering questions concerning the in-kind model. These questions revolved around the potential impact on balance sheets and the risks involved with the Market Maker's U.S. Registered Broker/Dealer entity (referred to as "MM-BD," distinct from the Market Maker's unregistered entity known as "MM-crypto") during the redemption process.
In response to these concerns from the SEC, BlackRock suggested an approach designed to address and resolve the issues brought forward by the regulator. This proposal aimed to get rid of any apprehensions related to the balance sheet of the U.S. BD market maker.
Scott Johnsson from Van Buren Capital shared his own opinion on this issue in an X post on Wednesday, stating, "If the primary concern here is the U.S. BD market maker's balance sheet, then BlackRock's proposal should, in theory, address that concern." He further elaborated that the key distinction from the previous in-kind model lies in creating a cash receivable from the offshore MM (Market Maker) to the onshore MM and subsequently transferring the cash directly, ensuring it resides onshore once the process is completed.
What Will the BTC Price Do?
BTC was up more than 1% at press time, while technical indicators on its daily chart suggested that it may continue to rise in the next few days. Both the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicators were flagging bullish.
Daily chart for BTC/USDT (Source: TradingView)
Buyers seemed to be growing stronger as the RSI line managed to break above the RSI Simple Moving Average (SMA) line throughout the past day of trading. In addition to this, the MACD line was closing in on the MACD Signal line. Should these two lines cross, it may suggest a continuation of BTC’s positive trend.
If these technical flags are confirmed and validated, then the leading cryptocurrency’s price may rise to as high as $40,000 in the next few days. On the other hand, the BTC could pull back to retest the immediate support level at $36,135 if traders begin to engage in profit taking activity. Thereafter, a daily candle close below this point may lead to BTC falling to as low as $32,685 in the short term.
