2024-03-11 13:45

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters MicroStrategy buys 12,000 Bitcoin using $800M raised from convertible note offering MicroStrategy (MSTR) acquired an additional 12,000 Bitcoin, according to a Monday security filing. MSTR shares popped more than 9% at the market open on Monday, while Bitcoin (BTC) was trading around $72,000 at the time of writing. The purchase was made using the funds the software technology firm raised through a convertible note offering announced earlier this month. The offering was finalized on March 8, raising a total of $800 million in principal amount. “MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 12,000 BTC for ~$821.7M using proceeds from convertible notes & excess cash for ~$68,477 per bitcoin,” the company’s founder and chairman Michael Saylor said in a post on X. With this latest acquisition, MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings have grown to 205,000 BTC, bought at an overall cost of $6.91 billion, which averages out to $31,500 per Bitcoin. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/microstrategy-buys-12000-bitcoin-using-800m-raised-from-convertible-note-offering-432SI-3332538

2024-03-11 13:12

Investing.com - Litecoin was trading at $96.080 by 09:11 (13:11 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Monday, up 10.02% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since March 2. The move upwards pushed Litecoin's market cap up to $7.112B, or 0.26% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Litecoin's market cap was $25.609B. Litecoin had traded in a range of $83.797 to $96.080 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Litecoin has seen a rise in value, as it gained 5.72%. The volume of Litecoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $818.332M or 0.56% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $73.5709 to $96.0828 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Litecoin is still down 77.12% from its all-time high of $420.00 set on December 12, 2017. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $71,893.6 on the Investing.com Index, up 3.77% on the day. Ethereum was trading at $4,049.71 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 3.13%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,413.956B or 52.19% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $487.019B or 17.98% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/litecoin-climbs-10-in-a-green-day-3332376

2024-03-11 11:52

Copyrighted Image by: Shutterstock Microstrategy (MSTR) acquires approximately 12,000 bitcoins Microstrategy, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) disclosed: As previously disclosed, on March 8, 2024, MicroStrategy Incorporated (“MicroStrategy”) completed a private offering of convertible senior notes (the “Offering”). The Offering, which included a 0.625% coupon and an approximately 42.5% conversion premium over the last reported sale price of MicroStrategy’s class A common stock on March 5, 2024, was well received in the marketplace and upsized to a total of $800 million in aggregate principal amount. This amount included the exercise by the initial purchasers of their option to purchase $100 million of additional notes. Net proceeds from the Offering to MicroStrategy totaled approximately $782.0 million. On March 11, 2024, MicroStrategy announced that, during the period between February 26, 2024 and March 10, 2024, MicroStrategy acquired approximately 12,000 bitcoins for approximately $821.7 million in cash, using $781.1 million of proceeds from the Offering and $40.6 million of Excess Cash (defined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023), at an average price of approximately $68,477 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. As of March 10, 2024, MicroStrategy, together with its subsidiaries, held an aggregate of approximately 205,000 bitcoins, which were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $6.91 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $33,706 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/microstrategy-acquires-approximately-12000-bitcoins-432SI-3332117

2024-03-11 11:41

Copyrighted Image by: Investing.com Coinbase (COIN) stock gains as the Bitcoin rally continues Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares rose more than 6% in premarket trading on Monday, reflecting the continued strength of Bitcoin. The increase has coincided with the BTC/USD rally above the $71,000 mark, marking a new record peak for the cryptocurrency. The price of Bitcoin surged to $71,837. It currently trades at $71,615, reflecting an intraday jump of around 3.75%, highlighting the ongoing bullish momentum in the cryptocurrency market. At the time of writing, Coinbase shares are trading at $274, up 6.77% The Coinbase share price increase and Bitcoin's record-high rally reflect the renewed investor interest in cryptocurrencies, particularly amid the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US. The rise in the cryptocurrency space on Monday was also helped by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority announcing it will not object to requests from Recognised Investment Exchanges (RIEs) to create a UK-listed market segment for cryptoasset-backed Exchange Traded Notes (cETNs). Furthermore, the London Stock Exchange said it will accept applications for bitcoin and ether ETNs in the second quarter of this year. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/coinbase-stock-gains-as-the-bitcoin-rally-continues-432SI-3332101

2024-03-11 09:27

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com - The U.S. dollar slipped lower in early European trade Monday, trading near two-month lows ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data for more clues over the timing of the start of the anticipated Federal Reserve rate-cutting cycle. At 04:30 ET (09:30 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower at 102.287, after registering a hefty weekly loss of over 1% last, falling to levels last seen in mid January. Dollar still weak ahead of U.S. CPI The dollar was hit hard last week after comments from Fed chief Jerome Powell, during his two-day testimony in front of Congress, were seen as dovish by the markets, suggesting the U.S. central bank was preparing to start cutting interest rates in the summer. Mixed jobs data on Friday–with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 275,000 but the unemployment rate rising to 3.9% in February after holding at 3.7% for three straight months–kept an anticipated June interest rate cut from the Fed on the table. And now traders will be looking to Tuesday's U.S. inflation data as they try to gauge how soon the Fed could start cutting interest rates. Economists are expecting February's consumer price index to rise 0.4% after a faster than expected increase of 0.3% in January. “We expect inflation figures to put a stop to the dollar decline this week,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “The shifts in FX positioning last week no longer justify an exacerbation in USD downward pressure unless key data starts to turn in favour of Fed easing. There is a non-negligible risk that part of the USD losses driven by Powell’s testimony are unwound this week.” Euro near eight-week high In Europe, EUR/USD edged 0.1% higher to 1.0944, with the euro retaining strength after hitting an eight-week high against the dollar last week in the process of recording its best weekly performance against the buck since the week ended Dec. 22. The ECB kept rates at record highs of 4% last week, while hinting that June could be the month to start cutting interest rates to support the region’s stuttering economy. Traders will also be looking to the eurozone January industrial production print, due later in the week. December’s report showed a large increase in production which erased a full year of declines. Another strong reading would be an encouraging sign for first quarter GDP growth. “We see some downside risks this week for EUR/USD, and a correction could take it back to the 1.0850-1.0900 area,” said ING. “However, our call for a first rate cut in June by both the ECB and the Fed can still argue for a higher EUR/USD, as the Fed should ultimately deliver a larger easing package.” GBP/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.2841, ahead of Tuesday’s release of the latest U.K. jobs report, with traders and the Bank of England alike focusing on wage growth amid speculation over the timing of a first rate cut. Yen in demand ahead of BOJ meeting In Asia, USD/JPY traded 0.3% lower to 146.70, with the yen surging sharply in the past two sessions to an over one-month high, supported by growing conviction that the Bank of Japan was close to ending its ultra-easy monetary policy. An upward revision in GDP data showed the Japanese economy dodging a technical recession in the fourth quarter, giving the BOJ more headroom to tighten policy sooner, potentially as soon as next week’s meeting. USD/CNY edged lower to 7.1840, while AUD/USD fell 0.2% to 0.6614 amid waning bets over more rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/dollar-unloved-ahead-of-key-us-inflation-data-euro-near-eightweek-high-3331807

2024-03-11 09:21

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Bill Ackman raises concerns over Bitcoin miners' record energy consumption Bitcoin miners, rebounding from the recent cryptocurrency downturn, are pouring billions into new equipment and setting energy consumption records, in light of an impending software update in the biggest cryptocurrency that could affect their revenue streams. Since February 2023, according to TheMinerMag's analysis of public documents, the top 13 mining companies have spent over $1 billion on high-tech mining hardware. CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) are at the forefront, having invested about $473 million and $415 million, respectively. These investments aim to boost operational efficiency and secure cost-effective electricity, a crucial factor given the energy-intensive nature of mining, which involves verifying blockchain transactions to earn Bitcoin. However, it has simultaneously raised the industry's power usage, which hit a record 19.6 gigawatts last month, up from 12.1 gigawatts a year earlier, as estimated by Coin Metrics. This level of electricity consumption is enough to supply power to roughly 3.8 million households in Texas, which hosts a significant number of these mining facilities. These stats ignited discussions across social media platforms, where American billionaire and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was among those who commented on the issue. “A scenario: Bitcoin price rise leads to increased mining and greater energy use, driving up the cost of energy, causing inflation to rise and the dollar to decline, driving demand for Bitcoin and increased mining, driving demand for energy and the cycle continues,” Ackman wrote in an X post. “Bitcoin goes to infinity, energy prices skyrocket, and the economy collapses. Maybe I should buy some Bitcoin,” he added. This increased activity in the crypto sector is driven by a significant surge in Bitcoin's value, spurred on by the introduction of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the anticipation of the halving event set for April. Following a 64% decline in 2022 due to various crypto industry crises, BTC’s value has since quadrupled. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bill-ackman-raises-concerns-over-bitcoin-miners-record-energy-consumption-432SI-3331804