– A week before the US elections, traders finally triggered a bull rally in the main cryptocurrency and stopped focusing on US presidential candidate ratings. (Although confidence in Donald Trump’s victory cannot be ruled out.) On Tuesday, 29 October, bitcoin not only breached the key resistance level of $70,000 with a trading volume of $48 billion but also climbed to $73,632. This achievement almost matched the All-Time High (ATH) recorded on 14 March this year at $73,745. However, the historical maximum has yet to be updated. At the time of this report on Wednesday, 29 October, the EUR/USD pair slightly receded and is trading around $72,000.
According to analysts, the surge in the value of digital gold led to the liquidation of over $143 million in short positions. This was followed by forced sales in Ethereum positions. Nevertheless, the growth of this altcoin appeared far less impressive – ETH has yet to break the upper boundary of a 12-week sideways channel.
– With bitcoin’s rise, the shares of leading BTC miners also surged. The most significant jump was seen by Singapore’s Bitdeer, which increased in value by 24.44%. Australian Iris Energy and Canadian Hut8 also stood out with gains of 17.84% and 15.5%, respectively. Experts from Blockware attribute the growth in these shares to improved macroeconomic conditions. They point out that the Federal Reserve’s easing of monetary policy and lower interest rates have boosted global liquidity. Meanwhile, investors are wary of high long-term inflation, further evidenced by the low yield on US Treasury bonds. As a result, market participants are refocusing on the crypto industry.
Blockware also notes that following the April halving of the main cryptocurrency, which reduced the block reward to 3.125 BTC, unprofitable miners exited the market. The remaining ones either adapted or are trying to increase revenue through ‘secondary’ businesses. For instance, Marathon Digital sells surplus heat and mines the KAS token. Additionally, renting mining power to AI startups has become a popular trend, as demonstrated by companies like Core Scientific and Hut8.
– It turns out that earning a trillion dollars is simple – all you have to do is call Michael Saylor, founder and CEO of MicroStrategy, and follow his advice. And his advice is to invest in bitcoin. This was the recommendation Saylor gave Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on social network X after he learned that Microsoft shareholders will vote in December on a proposal to invest in the main cryptocurrency, despite the company’s board opposing such a move.
– There are jokes online that Saylor might offer Microsoft even better advice. Statistics show that investing in MicroStrategy shares is far more profitable than bitcoin itself, as MicroStrategy continues to invest heavily in digital gold. Saylor recently published a chart showing changes in the prices of his company’s shares, bitcoin, and the S&P 500 index. Since the beginning of this year, MicroStrategy’s stock has risen from $45 per share to $235, more than quadrupling, while bitcoin increased 1.6 times (from $42,000 to $67,000), and the S&P 500 climbed 1.3 times (from 4,480 to 5,800). With only a 1.16-fold increase (from $367 to $428 per share), Microsoft lagged behind in this list. Thus, there is something for its shareholders to consider.
– Let’s recall that MicroStrategy first purchased bitcoin in August 2020 and currently holds the largest private collection of this asset – 252,220 BTC worth $16.9 billion. Saylor has stated that he envisions his company as a ‘bitcoin bank’ in the future and forecasts a rise in its capitalisation from the current $47 billion to $1 trillion. Analysts have calculated that since MicroStrategy's initial bitcoin purchase in August 2020, the company's shares have appreciated by 1578%. Thus, Saylor’s ambitious plans do not seem far-fetched.
– Crypto exchange Coinbase has introduced a new tool for creating AI-powered agents. The template, named Based Agent, enables the creation of autonomous bots with a wide range of functions, including: 1) creating cryptocurrency wallets for various digital assets, 2) buying and selling cryptocurrencies based on market data and trading strategies, 3) locking coins for passive income rewards, and 4) issuing both regular tokens and NFTs, expanding options for creating and monetising digital assets.
Based Agent can also be configured to monitor the market, collecting relevant data to aid in buy or sell decisions. Additionally, it includes tools for cost optimisation and risk management to minimise losses. AI agents are capable of learning based on their performance analysis, adapting to market changes. According to developers, such an agent can be set up with Based Agent in just three minutes.
- Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas predicts that by December, the number of coins in US-based spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (BTC-ETFs) could surpass the assets of bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. In the latter half of October, these funds attracted approximately $4 billion in capital, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) alone garnering about $2.6 billion.
Simple calculations show that, at the current accumulation rate (roughly 17,000 coins per week), bitcoin ETFs could amass 1 million BTC in just a few days. This trend could surpass Nakamoto’s assets, estimated at around 1.1 million coins, as early as December. Nevertheless, Balchunas notes that the crypto market is volatile and unpredictable, so these timelines could be significantly adjusted. However, the growth of BTC funds is likely to remain on an upward trajectory. ‘Anything could happen,’ Balchunas writes, ‘such as a major sell-off, but that would merely delay the inevitable. Conversely, if prices continue to rise and Trump wins, we could witness FOMO accelerating this process.’ (FOMO – fear of missing out – is the phenomenon of anxiety about missing important opportunities.)
– Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that he has developed a plan for bitcoin use. He stated that the global economy is facing chaos and the devaluation of fiat currencies, which is driving increased interest in bitcoin and USDT stablecoins. Ardoino remarked that bitcoin has proven itself as a capital-preserving asset, and Tether plans to use it to support developing country governments, banks, and private organizations by creating tokenized shares and funds. He emphasized that the number of USDT users is growing by 30 million each quarter, with a total global clientele exceeding 400 million.
– Bitwise Asset Management’s Matt Hougan expressed confidence that bitcoin’s growth to $200,000 would not require the devaluation of the US dollar. He believes that bitcoin will strengthen as a store of value, becoming closer to traditional assets like gold. Hougan pointed out that bitcoin’s current capitalisation is about 7% of gold’s market value, which is around $18 trillion. He speculated that if digital gold were to reach even half the capitalisation of physical gold, its price could increase to $400,000 per coin. At this point, the crypto asset would be seen as a reliable capital preservation tool, especially in large institutional portfolios.
Hougan also noted that bitcoin demand will be fuelled by governments’ inefficient monetary policies. Rising money supply and inflation are pushing people to seek alternative savings tools, strengthening interest in non-sovereign assets, including bitcoin. The Bitwise Asset Management CEO highlighted that bitcoin’s maturity and the growing demand for stable assets complement each other. If bitcoin attains status parity with traditional assets, its value could reach seven figures in the long run.
