Connect with us

Bitcoin

Bitcoin-Linked Asset Performance Review for 2024

Published

5 days ago

on


Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR)

It’s been a tough month for MicroStrategy (MSTR), the software developer turned bitcoin (BTC) accumulator. Its stock has tumbled almost 50% since November, when it joined the Nasdaq 100 index and peaked at a 600% gain since the start of the year.

That still leaves the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company a whopping 342% ahead in 2024, the biggest return among the highest-profile crypto-linked assets in traditional finance (TradFi).

It’s been a volatile year, packed with geopolitical and technological developments to rattle financial markets. The continuing wars in eastern Europe and the Middle East, elections across the globe, the unwinding of the yen carry trade in August and the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) have all left their marks.

MicroStrategy’s gain is almost double that of Nvidia (NVDA), the chipmaker whose production of integrated circuits needed for AI applications fueled a 185% return, the best among the so-called magnificent seven tech stocks. The next best, Meta Platforms (META), turned in 71%.

Bitcoin itself rose 100% in a year that included April’s reward halving and multiple record highs. Demand for the largest cryptocurrency was driven by the January approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. Bitcoin outperformed two of its biggest competitors, ether (ETH), up 42%, and Solana (SOL), up 79%.

Among the ETF’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) also returned over 100% and became the fastest ETF in history to hit $50 billion in assets.

Bitcoin mining companies, on the whole, disappointed. Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), a proxy for mining stocks, rose just under 30%. That’s despite demand for the miners’ computing capabilities and power supply agreements from artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) companies. Still, individual companies benefited, in particular, Bitdeer (BTDR),which added 151%, and WULF (WULF), which gained 131%.

Nevertheless, the miners’ gains beat the broader equities market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) added 28% while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) rose 25%. The S&P 500 also trailed behind gold’s 27% increase. The precious commodity has now topped the equity gauge in three of the past five years.

Concerns about U.S. inflation and the country’s budget deficit added to the geopolitical uncertainties to prompt a massive rise in U.S. treasury yields, which move in the opposite direction to price.

The yield on the 10-Year Treasury added 15% to 4.5% over the course of the year, and surprisingly gained a full 100 basis points since the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates in September.

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), which tracks bond prices, dropped 10% this year and has lost 40% in the past five years.

The dollar, on the other hand, showed its strength. The DXY Index (DXY), a measure of the greenback against a basket of the currencies of the U.S.’ biggest trading partners, rose to the highest since September 2022.

West Texas Intermediate (USOIL), the benchmark oil price in the U.S., ends the year little changed, up less than 1% to around $71 a barrel. But it was a bumpy ride, with the price rising to almost $90 at some points in the past 12 months.

As we head into the new year, all eyes will be on the debt ceiling discussion, the policies of President-elect Donald Trump and whether the U.S. can continue with its impressive growth story.

Assets % YTD Returns (TradingView)

Assets % YTD Returns (TradingView)





Source link

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

24/7 Cryptocurrency News

Charles Hoskinson Issues Major Cardano Lace Wallet Update

Published

11 hours ago

on

January 5, 2025

By


Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson took to the X platform recently to inform members of the ADA community of what the future holds for Lace Wallet. He hinted at the numerous upgrades planned out for the Cardano-based light wallet platform this year.

The Potential Lace Wallet Upgrades

In his X post, Hoskinson suggested that Lace would make a debut on multiple platforms. This is in addition to the other new and exciting features that the wallet would welcome.

Only a few days ago, the Cardano Founder voiced his optimism on the possibility for Lace Wallet to become a “powerhouse” this year. This was around the time when the wallet announced that its migration of users from Nami to Lace, was in “full swing. ”

Apart from Lace, the Cardano ecosystem is also working on enhancing other solutions within the ecosystem. In November, Hoskinson engaged Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz in a technical discussion around Midnight and XRP.

As a privacy-focused blockchain project, Midnight is designed to enhance secure data handling while also maintaining regulatory compliance. Hoskinson is very positive about Midnight’s potential to drive the evolution of privacy-centric Decentralized Applications (dApps) and further blockchain development.

Their discussion suggests that there may be an impending collaboration between Cardano and Ripple in the near future.

In the case of Voltaire, the Chang Hard Fork upgrade, which ushers this decentralized governance era launched in September. This launch put Cardano’s future in the hands of the community to govern.

Consequently, Hoskinson confirmed that his last duty for the ecosystem “is to remove any roadblock for this transition.” He promised to prevent any bottleneck that will derail the plans this year.

The Cardano Bitcoin DeFi Plans

In addition to the different solutions designed by developers in its ecosystem, Cardano has plans to explore Bitcoin DeFi. There is currently a growing clamor for utility around the flagship cryptocurrency and recent partnerships between Cardano and BitcoinOS to create a bridge for both ecosystems.

So far, the Cardano team has been saddled with the responsibility of coming up with a meaningful Bitcoin roadmap demo by May 2025. To achieve its set goals, Charles Hoskinson stated that Cardano will collaborate with Fair Gate Labs, a Multi Party Computational protocol.

Notably, Cardano price is up 3.4% in 24 hours to $1.07 as investors remain hyped by its upgrades and ecosystem plans.

 

 

✓ Share:

Godfrey Benjamin

Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.

Follow him on X, Linkedin

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





Source link

Continue Reading

Bitcoin

Bitwise Unveils Crypto Predictions for 2025, Says One Top-10 Altcoin Set To Explode 250% This Year

Published

15 hours ago

on

January 4, 2025

By


Digital asset investment manager Bitwise is unveiling its predictions for cryptocurrencies and the industry in 2025.

Starting with Solana (SOL), Bitwise’s head of research Ryan Rasmussen says the asset manager is predicting that the Ethereum (ETH) rival will skyrocket by 250% and hit a price of $750 this year.

Solana is trading at $214 at time of writing, around 18% below the all-time high price of $263 reached in November of 2024.

On Bitcoin (BTC), Bitwise predicts that the crypto king will surge by 106% from the current level to reach a price of $200,000 in 2025. Ethereum, according to Bitwise, will rally by around 99% from the current level to hit a price of $7,000 this year.

Bitcoin is trading at $96,940 at time of writing while Ethereum is worth $3,521.

Turning to US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Rasmussen says Bitwise expects the inflows in 2025 to surpass last year’s figures. The cumulative total net inflows into the US spot Bitcoin ETFs as of January 3rd amounted to approximately $35.66 billion.

Rasmussen also says that Bitwise is predicting that the number of countries holding Bitcoin in their reserves will double in 2025. Some of the countries that currently hold Bitcoin reserves include El Salvador. The Central American country holds over $588.95 million in Bitcoin as of January 3rd.

The Bitwise head of research also cites the crypto asset manager’s bonus prediction that is projected to materialize further into the future.

“In 2029, Bitcoin will overtake the $18 trillion gold market and trade above $1 million.”

Bitcoin has a market cap of approximately $1.917 trillion at time of writing.

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

&nbsp

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: Midjourney





Source link

Continue Reading

Altcoin

MARA CEO Advocates “Invest And Forget” Approach To Bitcoin, Citing Strong Historical Performance

Published

1 day ago

on

January 4, 2025

By



Este artículo también está disponible en español.

In a recent interview with FOX Business, Fred Thiel, CEO of Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm MARA Holdings, advocated an “invest and forget” strategy for retail investors looking to gain exposure to the world’s leading digital currency.

Thiel Cites Positive Historical Performance Of Bitcoin

BTC continues to trade within the mid-$90,000 range after a recent pullback from its all-time high (ATH) of $108,135. While crypto analysts keep a close eye on the flagship cryptocurrency’s price movements, major BTC holders appear less concerned about short-term fluctuations.

Citing Bitcoin’s historical performance, Thiel advised retail investors to adopt a long-term approach. He noted that Bitcoin has closed the year at a lower price only three times in its 14-year history, including during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thiel stated:

My recommendation, to my kids, for example, is they put just a little bit away every month in Bitcoin and forget about it. Over two, three, four years, it grows, and that’s what people do.

Thiel also emphasized BTC’s consistent growth, highlighting that it has appreciated annually by an average of 29% to 50%. However, BTC remains a high-risk asset, and risk-averse investors may shy away until the asset class achieves broader acceptance or gains official recognition from a major global economy.

For instance, the establishment of a US strategic Bitcoin reserve could solidify the cryptocurrency’s legitimacy as an asset and potentially spark a domino effect, encouraging other nations to follow suit. Thiel described such a reserve as a key catalyst for driving Bitcoin’s price to new highs in 2025.

Additionally, Thiel pointed to high institutional involvement through Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and favorable digital asset regulations under the Trump administration as other factors that could support BTC’s growth this year.

Although Thiel’s advice was aimed at retail investors, recent data suggests that many are already planning to increase their Bitcoin holdings. According to a poll conducted by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, over 75% of 65,164 respondents intend to end 2025 with more BTC than they started with.

The poll reflects growing enthusiasm among retail investors, buoyed by bullish developments in 2024 such as ETF approvals, the Bitcoin halving, and Trump’s election victory in November.

More Companies Adding BTC To Balance Sheet

Bitcoin adoption among corporations continues to grow. While MARA Holdings already holds BTC on its balance sheet, rival crypto mining company Hut 8 recently expanded its holdings to more than 10,000 BTC.

Other firms, such as Japan-based Metaplanet and Canada’s Rumble, joined the Bitcoin movement in 2024. Additionally, Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated over 1 million BTC in under a year since their launch.

However, skepticism remains. Japan’s Prime Minister recently expressed caution about the idea of establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, reflecting lingering doubts in some quarters. At press time, BTC trades at $97,229, up 0.7% in the past 24 hours.

bitcoin
BTC trades at $97,229 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView.com

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView.com



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement [ethereumads]

Trending

    wpChatIcon