Nigel Farage-backed Stack BTC bought $2.7 million of Bitcoin, deepening the Reform UK leader’s crypto ties as the UK moves to curb crypto donations. Stack BTC, an Aquis-listed Bitcoin treasury company chaired by former UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, purchased 2 million British pounds ($2.7 million) worth of Bitcoin on Monday, as Nigel Farage deepens his ties to the firm. According to an April 13 filing, the company purchased 37 Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its treasury strategy at a price of roughly $72,385 per coin and now holds a total of 68.1898 BTC. The purchase follows Farage’s previously disclosed $286,000 equity investment in the company, which has been marketing itself as a way for UK investors to gain Bitcoin exposure via public markets, and makes Farage the first UK political party leader and sitting member of parliament to publicly back Bitcoin, in what Stack BTC described as a “landmark moment for Bitcoin in British politics.” Read more
Bitcoin preserved $70,000 at the weekly close as markets began reacting to a breakdown in US-Iran negotiations and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin (BTC) held $70,000 at the weekly close as markets reacted to a breakdown in US-Iran negotiations and escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. A breakdown in US-Iran negotiations sends oil surging above $100 per barrel, with the Strait of Hormuz now blockaded. US PPI inflation data is due amid signs that the oil crisis is far from the only driver of price increases. Read more
Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT said Garrett Dutton’s 5.9 Bitcoin has already been sent to deposit addresses associated with KuCoin. Garrett Dutton, an American musician better known as “G. Love,” said he lost $420,000 worth of Bitcoin after installing a malicious app impersonating the self-custody crypto app Ledger Live from Apple’s App Store and entering his seed phrase. “I had a really tough day,” Dutton told his 67,500 followers in a post on X on Saturday, adding that he lost his 5.9 Bitcoin (BTC) stash “in an instant” after spending about 10 years accumulating the coins to secure his retirement. In a follow-up post, crypto sleuth ZachXBT said that Dutton’s Bitcoin has been sent to deposit addresses linked to the crypto exchange KuCoin across nine transactions. KuCoin replied to the post with a statement typically addressed to customers. Read more
Bitcoin mining is becoming more centralized while AI may move the opposite way, driven by edge computing and open-source models. Bitcoin mining runs the risk of becoming more centralized as time goes on, while artificial intelligence may be moving in the opposite direction, according to Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn. Thorn said that while Bitcoin mining began decentralized, with users mining Bitcoin on their personal computers, it has since become far more centralized, requiring ASIC miners or industrial-scale farms. “AI may follow the opposite path,” Thorn said, explaining that AI began in centralized clusters but could decentralize as open-source models close the gap. Read more
Bitcoin price sold off as negotiations to end the US-Iran war broke down and the Strait of Hormuz returned to the spotlight. Bitcoin (BTC) fell 3% to trade below $71,000 into Sunday’s weekly close after negotiations to end the US-Iran war broke down. Key points: Bitcoin shed its gains as negotiations between the US and Iran broke down. Read more
The company has completed 105 Bitcoin transactions since 2020 and is playing contrarian as it continues accumulating BTC via corporate debt and equity financing Michael Saylor, the co-founder of Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company Strategy, signaled that the company is acquiring more BTC, as the price retreated from the local high of over $73,000 reached this week. “Think bigger,” Saylor said on Sunday, while sharing the chart of Strategy’s BTC purchase history that has become synonymous with imminent BTC acquisitions. Strategy’s most recent BTC purchase was April 6, when it bought 4,871 coins for more than $329.8 million, bringing its total holdings to 766,970 BTC, valued at about $54.5 billion using market prices at the time of publication, according to the company. The Tysons Corners, Virginia-based company continues accumulating BTC, even amid a bear market that pushed Bitcoin’s price down to two-year lows, putting Strategy’s BTC treasury underwater. Read more
Bitcoin miners are heading toward the 2028 halving with thinner margins, tighter power markets and a growing need for capital discipline. Bitcoin’s fifth halving is roughly two years away, and the mining sector is heading into it with far less margin for error than in 2024, as higher costs, tighter energy markets and clearer regulation reshape the industry. At the last halving in April 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) traded at around $63,000 as rewards fell from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block, according to Coingecko. In April 2028, at the next halving, miners face higher input costs for half the new coins, as rewards drop to 1.5625 BTC. That looks tougher in a world of record hashrate, higher energy prices and more selective capital. Energy security has also become a strategic concern after geopolitical shocks jolted fuel and power markets, while regulators from Washington to Europe move from ad-hoc guidance to formal regimes for custody and licensed institutional platforms. Read more
Bitcoin and Ether are each less than 10% away from price levels that could signal a potential reversal in the crypto market, according to a macro analyst. Bitcoin and Ether aren’t far from levels that could signal a trend reversal this year, despite a growing consensus across the industry calling for a bear market, according to macro analyst Jordi Visser. “If we trade above $76,000 and at the same time we see Ethereum above $2,400, I believe that is the beginning of a move that will be sustainable this year because I don't think we're going to have a recession,” Visser said on the Anthony Pompliano podcast published on YouTube on Friday. A move to $76,000 would represent an increase of 6.1% from Bitcoin’s (BTC) price of $71,646 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap data. Ether’s (ETH) move to $2,400 would represent an increase of around 8%. Read more
Bitcoin open interest hit five-week highs while funding rates mimicked the BTC price collapse below $60,000, leading analysis to predict a new short squeeze. Bitcoin (BTC) is due a classic “short squeeze” as open interest hits five-week highs, says new analysis. Key points: Bitcoin is seeing a combination of rising open interest and negative funding rates. Read more