Last week’s sideways action isn’t bearish considering bitcoin surged 60% in the month leading up to it.
Last Week In Bitcoin is a series discussing the events of the previous week that occurred in the Bitcoin industry, covering all the important news and analysis.
Summary Of The Week
The week started off great with bitcoin breaching $50,000 on Monday, but it seemed to stagnate as the days went on. While many complained, bitcoin was already up 60% over the preceding month and a short cool-off period is nothing new. In the week, MicroStrategy stacked up and continued to HODL, more billionaires joined the bitcoin club, and both Ray Dalio and Facebook made some ill-advised moves. Here’s the last week in bitcoin:
Bullish News
❶ The week started off great as bitcoin surpassed $50,000 for the first time since May, in what seemed to be the start of a bullish week. Sadly, the price struggled to remain above $50,000 and dipped a bit. Many cried foul, but were quick to forget bitcoin surged over 60% over the month leading up to Monday.
❷ On Tuesday, bitcoin infrastructure firm, Blocksteam, raised $210 million in funding at a $3.2 billion valuation as the firm plans to expand its mining initiatives and launch its own ASIC miners. Blockstream is led by Adam Back, founder of Hashcash, used in bitcoin mining, and the fundraising confirms market interest in bitcoin infrastructure investments.
❸ Also on Tuesday, Michael Saylor announced that MicroStrategy purchased an additional 3,907 BTC bringing the company’s total holdings to 108,992 BTC. Saylor reiterated the company’s intent to HODL and confirmed that the company maintains self-custody with no intent on lending it out.
❹ Rounding out news from Tuesday was Mexican billionaire, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, calling fiat currency a fraud and noting that his bank, Banco Azteca, was working on becoming the first in Mexico to accept bitcoin. It also operates in Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and El Salvador. This is overly bullish considering bitcoin is becoming a big talking point in South America, with El Salvador just over a week away from starting its nationwide bitcoin rollout.
❻ On Wednesday, Holly Kim became the first politician in the U.S. state of Illinois to accept bitcoin donations, saying “It seems to be how people want to give. I feel like it’s a new frontier.” As more and more politicians warm up to the idea of bitcoin and its potential, it’s likely they will be for pro-bitcoin legislation in the future.
❼ Also on Wednesday, NYDIG partnered with SIMON, which serves over 100,000 wealth managers with assets over $5 trillion, to offer bitcoin custody services. SIMON also launched a bitcoin education platform specifically aimed at wealth managers.
❾ By Thursday, Morgan Stanley funds held more than 1 million shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin trust.
❿ Also on Thursday, Bloomberg reported that billionaire, Simon Nixon, was seeking bitcoin exposure, following in the footsteps of Ricardo Salinas Pliego earlier in the week. Nixon is the co-founder of price-comparison website, MoneySuperMarket, founded in 1993.
Other bullish bits of news to round the week off with was Fidelity predicting bitcoin would hit $1 million in 2026, billionaire Samih Sawiris started accepting bitcoin at his luxury hotel in Switzerland, Wyoming Senator, Chris Rothfuss made it clear the state was pro-bitcoin and Venezuelan Turpial airlines plans to accept bitcoin as a hedge against hyperinflation.
Bearish News
❺ On Tuesday Ray Dalio, who just weeks ago claimed to be investing heavily in bitcoin, claimed that gold is still superior. With his stance flopping around like a fish out of water, it can be misconstrued that he’s completely changed it, but that still remains unclear. He is co-CIO at one of the world’s largest hedge funds and so his word carries some weight to no-coiners, for now.
❽ On Wednesday, Facebook reaffirmed its commitment to stablecoins and NFTs, instead of bitcoin. Although it’s entirely their choice, the company that controls the voices of billions through its platforms, is taking a clear stance that it prioritises other crypto assets over bitcoin — slap in the face to bitcoin and bitcoin users worldwide.
Verdict
Over the last week I have noticed the longer you’re active in the bitcoin space, the more desensitized you become to overly bullish news. Billionaires are eager to invest in bitcoin, wealth managers and banks are launching new bitcoin-friendly products almost weekly, and more and more institutions are starting to heavily invest their resources in bitcoin, but the markets don’t seem to react. Then again, as I have stated before, bitcoin’s fiat price should be no indication of its strength.
We are in the early days of an asset that will shift the status quo and put financial control back in the hands of the masses. If you buy bitcoin because some billionaire is doing it, then you clearly don’t comprehend what bitcoin is, how it works or what it stands for. Although, more adopters should always be welcomed and those with a podium to preach from are welcome to join the “diamond hands army.”
Bitcoin breached $50,000 for the first time in several months and that’s a good sign.It’s slowly but surely moving up and if you didn’t stack up at $30,000 in late July, then the second best opportunity to stack is now. In just over a week El Salvador will start rolling out bitcoin as legal tender, millions of citizens will receive $30 in bitcoin each and the country is poised to pave the way for further adoption by countries that have for centuries been described as “third world” but little do they know…
I am confident that bitcoin is still poised to go beyond $100,000 in the months ahead, whether or not there will be a major catalyst that drives this growth, remains to be seen, but then again, isn’t the biggest catalyst for growth the idea that bitcoin will bring financial freedom and more importantly financial security in the decades to come?
This is a guest post by Dion Guillaume. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
