“Strategy’s 555,000 BTC remains untouched with no intention to sell, resulting in an annual deflation rate of -2.23% — a figure which might increase with the involvement of other stable institutional holders,” Ju noted in a post dated May 10.

Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy, is a vocal Bitcoin proponent who has successfully convinced several companies to incorporate a Bitcoin treasury plan. Saylor’s advocacy has not only elevated the profile of the digital currency but also constricted the supply of available Bitcoins, consequently pushing up BTC prices and reducing market volatility.

Besides its role in advocacy, Strategy also bridges the gap between Bitcoin and traditional finance markets. By selling corporate debt and equity, Strategy channels funds from traditional finance investors into Bitcoin, enabling further BTC purchases. Saylor revealed that more than 13,000 institutions have direct investments in Strategy stocks.

Adam Livingston, author of “The Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest,” recently suggested that Strategy is effectively causing a halving in Bitcoin by surpassing miner supply through high demand. As per Livingston, Strategy accumulates about 2,087 BTC daily, which is over four times the daily output of miners, estimated at 450 BTC.

Institutions such as hedge funds, pension funds, asset managers, and tech companies continue to acquire BTC either as a portfolio diversifier or a treasury asset to hedge against potential inflation of fiat currency.

Meanwhile, ETF inflows have contributed to Bitcoin’s price stability by infusing new capital from traditional financial markets, thus tempering the cryptocurrency’s volatility and softening the blow of downturns. However, Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge, opines that significant institutional players, such as sovereign wealth funds, will significantly invest in Bitcoin only after comprehensive cryptocurrency regulations are implemented in the United States.

The post Strategic BTC Acquisitions by Strategy Spark Bitcoin Deflation, Claims Analyst appeared first on Crypto Market Insights: Dive In with CryptoUpdate.io.

Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, argued in a recent post that, contrary to popular belief, Bitcoin hasn’t achieved the status of digital gold yet. Despite this, he sees a positive aspect in the current scenario.

Bitcoin has often been referred to as digital gold due to its security, limited supply, and its purported role as a store of value – characteristics that it shares with gold, which has a limited supply that bolsters its worth as a long-term wealth store.

When global economic unrest began in February, spurred by trade tariffs imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, many market gurus believed that BTC would witness a substantial capital inflow as investors moved from the stock market to cryptocurrencies.

Even Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, speculated that the economic turmoil resulting from Trump’s tariffs would trigger a monetary easing cycle that would be advantageous for BTC.

Yet, while the market waits for these predictions to materialize, cryptocurrencies have taken as much of a hit as stocks in the last two months, with BTC experiencing its steepest correction in this cycle.

Ju argued that tariff experts have been “playing 6D chess” since these macro issues surfaced. He suggested that such uncertainties fuel demand for safe-haven assets, implying that BTC is not yet viewed as one. Proof of this is that gold has risen by 11% since Trump left office, while BTC has fallen more than 25% in the same period.

Despite Bitcoin’s uncertain status as digital gold, Ju maintains that BTC will eventually exceed gold’s $20 trillion market cap. Bitcoin’s market cap currently stands at $1.6 trillion.

The CryptoQuant CEO also asserted that BTC has entered a bear phase but remains optimistic about the asset’s long-term potential.

Ju’s short-term bearish outlook for BTC supports his earlier assertion that the cryptocurrency has concluded its bull run for this cycle. Less than a month ago, he stated that all on-chain metrics indicate that BTC is in a bear market, and investors should brace for 6-12 months of bearish or sideways price movements, particularly as fresh liquidity dwindles.

The post Bitcoin’s Digital Gold Status in Question: Insights from CryptoQuant CEO appeared first on Crypto Market Insights: Dive In with CryptoUpdate.io.

Registering their marriage on the blockchain required two transactions on the network. In particular, those included transfers of the NFT tokens, or virtual “rings,” to the couple’s wallets. Creating the contract cost about $537. Moreover, the validation took 4 minutes and resulted in $50 in miner fees, the source says.  

Smart contracts on the Ethereum network allow to create and execute transactions without third-party involvement. Moreover, the advantage of a smart contract is the absence of an intermediary and the automatic enforcement of the agreement between the two parties.

The cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, ETH, has been attracting institutional investors. Over the previous week, 400,000 ETH was moved out of Coinbase, and Ki Young Ju, the CEO of CryptoQuant, suspects it might be the result of institutional interest.  

ETH has seen price growth of over 19% in the past 7 days, per CoinMarketCap.com data. It is trading at around $2,049 at the time of writing.

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