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MicroStrategy, macro impact

If you bought the bitcoin dip, you’re definitely not alone.

At least six companies — five of which are publicly traded — have snapped up bitcoin following its all-time high in March.

MicroStrategy, Block, Metaplanet, Semler Scientific, OneMedNet and soccer team Real Bedford FC — owned by Bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack — altogether bought an estimated 48,836 BTC in that period.

They probably paid about $3.09 billion for that stash, which would now be worth closer to $3.1 billion.

And OK, MicroStrategy is relentless. The data intelligence firm was responsible for 97% of the bitcoin bought by those corporations since bitcoin’s recent top, leaving the others to spend roughly $92.7 million on stacking sats.

Bitcoin retraced as much as 27% as markets consolidated — from almost $73,740 to $53,900.

It’s not totally possible to determine the exact purchase price in many instances. Still, the data suggests they probably spent in the region of $63,250 per coin.

But publicly-listed companies have been buying bitcoin for over four years now.

Since MicroStrategy bought its first BTC in August 2020 (after then-CEO Michael Saylor sold the Voice.com domain to EOS issuer Block.one for $30 million), at least fifteen different companies have added bitcoin to their balance sheets.

(The real figure is actually somewhat higher. Fifteen is the number of bitcoin-buying companies that aren’t specifically related to bitcoin mining or digital asset management, that have also disclosed the dates of their purchases to date — which allows us to see a cost basis on BitcoinTreasuries.net.)

The chart above plots every bitcoin purchase disclosed by companies against the price of bitcoin, from Latin America ecommerce giant MercadoLibre to South Korean video game publisher Nexon.

However, it doesn’t show the 33,480 BTC ($2.1 billion) sold by Tesla between April 2021 and July 2022 — around 75% of its stash — and some are positioned at estimated times due to unspecified disclosures.

It includes estimated buys for Block’s new dollar-cost averaging strategy, which sees the Jack Dorsey-founded fintech firm direct 10% of its gross bitcoin-related profits from Cash App into BTC purchases every month.

Block reported $67 million bitcoin-related gross profit in Q2 2024, which averages out to 22.3 million per month. If its gross profits remain steady, Block is buying something like $2.2 million in bitcoin each month — about 34.6 BTC at current prices.

All told, the rate of individual bitcoin purchases from corporations is increasing: At least 32 so far this year compared to nine in all of 2023, eight in 2022, 20 in 2021 and five in 2020.

Of course, many more from El Salvador and various crypto funds and ETFs, and even ones that haven’t been publicly disclosed. Bitcoin bulls have company.

— David Canellis

Data Center

• Bitcoin’s back under $65,000, holding on to $63,572 Monday morning. It’s down 3% over the past day.
• Ether’s sitting at $2,616, down just over 1% in the past day.
• Around 65% of ETC Group’s tracked altcoins outperformed bitcoin on a weekly basis.
• The Group’s Cryptoasset Sentiment Index also hit the highest level since March 2024, signaling a bullish level of sentiment.
• BNB, which hit $617 on Friday, is down to $571 Monday morning, dropping 3.2% in the past week.

The return of CZ

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao is a free man.

Zhao was released Friday from US federal custody after a four-month prison sentence.

In typical CZ fashion, one of the first things that the billionaire did was take to X with a simple “gm” post.

As for what’s next, the former executive gave a sneak peek into his plans and — to no one’s surprise — he isn’t going back to Binance. But that’s to be expected, given that part of Zhao’s 2023 plea deal bars him from operating or managing Binance for three years after the appointment of a monitor.

During his stay in a California correctional facility, Binance actually appointed two monitors. We reported in June that the exchange confirmed that the infamous Sullivan & Cromwell was on board, alongside Forensic Risk Alliance.

As part of the November 2023 plea deal, the billionaire also paid a $50 million fine and pled guilty to a money laundering charge on top of stepping down as CEO.

But even with that caveat, CZ seems to be happy with how new CEO Richard Teng’s handling the exchange.

CZ noted: “Oh, Binance seems to be doing well without me back-seat-driving, which is excellent. Every founder’s dream!”

So what’s next for Zhao? He plans to “chill for a bit” but that won’t stop him from once again being an active player in crypto. Though, it seems he’ll be taking an entirely new role.

Zhao hinted at investing, highlighting that he’s interested in blockchain and decentralized tech, alongside artificial intelligence. While those areas aren’t new to Zhao, coming in as just an investor would be.

“I am a long term investor who care about impact, not returns,” Zhao said.

He also plans to dedicate “big part of my life” to Giggle Academy, a nonprofit online education platform. Zhao announced the project in March, before his April sentencing, saying that it would provide a free education from first grade to 12th grade.

“I will also dedicate more time and funding to charity (and education). I have some rough ideas,” he added.

As for Zhao’s book? He’s almost done with it, according to the X update.

“Writing a book is a lot more work than I anticipated, but will see this one through,” he said. A book was another tease Zhao made before serving his sentence.

Zhao’s release, which came on the heels of former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison’s sentencing, represents yet another closed chapter in crypto’s own book as we move on from the last era into an entirely new cycle.

And while the main characters are forever changing, it seems that Zhao plans to continue to take part, just perhaps in a smaller role.

– Katherine Ross

The Works

• Step aside DOGE, there’s a new cute animal memecoin in town — Thailand’s baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng has her own crypto.
• We’re inching closer to the November election, and the New Yorker’s Charles Bethea is taking crypto’s pulse at the ballot box.
• Crypto services provider Matrixport has struck a deal to acquire Crypto Finance Asset Management, a licensed crypto asset manager based in Switzerland.
• Professional investors in Taiwan can now invest in foreign crypto ETFs, thanks to approval by the country’s financial regulator on Monday.
• ICYMI, Coinbase picked up a new vice president of litigation, no doubt a move to support the exchange’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC.

The Riff

Q: Japan is reportedly going to review its crypto oversight rules, paving the way for ETFs. Does this mean that Mt Gox is fully in the rearview mirror?

I think it signals that times are certainly changing. But, as I wrote above, so does everything. Crypto is evolving and it’s in a very different place than it was when Mt. Gox happened…obviously.

Japan, which has been pretty strict when it comes to crypto, might be seeing the writing on the wall and is trying to pay attention to investor demand. Love or hate crypto, no one can ignore the immense success of the bitcoin ETFs in the US.

Not to mention that some Japanese firms have already shown their interest in crypto. On a smaller scale, we have Metaplanet adopting MicroStrategy’s strategy and buying up bitcoin. On the opposite end, you have Sony — which has a market cap of $124 billion — announcing its own blockchain initiative.

A Japan that’s friendlier to crypto could be just another sign that crypto’s here to stay.

– Katherine Ross

When Japan first wrote its rules back in 2015-2016, one of the (at the time historic) components was the classification of bitcoin and other “virtual currencies” as payment instruments.

Now, according to Bloomberg, Japan’s review might redefine crypto as a financial instrument — thus, allowing for products to be created around them.

This change would be a big deal, and indicative that the times changed long ago. Once-mighty aspirations for bitcoin and other digital assets to be, primarily, engines for payments have gone the way of the dodo.

Sure, maybe some folks are out there swiping their apps to pay with BTC, but more often than not, they’re investing, HODLing, etc.

Japan’s rules were an early example of how a government might monitor the then-novel world of cryptocurrencies — a process shaped by the close-to-home collapse of Mt Gox. Now, Japan seems on the cusp of catching up with the rest of the world.

– Michael McSweeney