Key Takeaways

• The second-largest daily inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs failed to sustain bitcoin prices above $70,000. Analysts say hedge funds and commodity traders are involved in price arbitrage, buying ETFs and selling CME bitcoin futures.
• Robinhood announced a deal to buy cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp.
• Semler Scientific is taking a page out of Microstrategy’s playbook and acquiring bitcoin.
• Market watchers will be watching CPI data and comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for clues about when the central bank might cut rates.

Bitcoin prices have remained quite fluctuating over the past week, although they fell sharply below the $70,00 mark on Friday after rising to over $71,000 earlier in the week.

The second-largest daily inflows into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds failed to maintain bitcoin price momentum as traders engaged in arbitrage to make money on the difference between spot and futures prices. Robinhood (HOOD) made headlines with its acquisition of Bitstamp in a bid to expand its business abroad. Additionally, another publicly traded company decided to leverage bitcoin as a treasury asset.

Bitcoin ETFs have the second strongest daily flow

Last Tuesday, US spot bitcoin ETFs had the second-largest daily net inflows, reaching $886.6 million, according to data from Farside Investors. Leading the entries was Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), contributing $378.7 million, followed by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (I BITE) with US$274.4 million.

This inflow marked sixteen consecutive days of net inflows for these ETFs, which have since been extended to nineteen days. It was a strong week overall for bitcoin ETF inflows, as nearly $1.6 billion in flows entered the market from Tuesday through Thursday alone.

Cumulative net inflows into US Bitcoin ETFs have now reached $15.6 billion, with IBIT surpassing the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as the biggest player on the market. Despite strong flows, the price of bitcoin has only flirted with a new all-time high and has yet to reach the $73,000 mark seen in March.

Traders were bullish on spot bitcoin ETFs when they began trading in January, with inflows driving a rally in bitcoin prices. However, that trend may be changing as traders are now betting on arbitrage.

Hedge funds and commodity traders are buying spot bitcoin ETFs while selling CME futures, or basic tradingwith the aim of profiting from the futures market premium over spot prices, according to BitMEX Research.

What Bitstamp Buying Means for Robinhood

Robinhood US$200 million acquisition Crypto exchange Bitstamp accelerates its foray into digital assets, especially outside the US. This expansion comes about six months after Robinhood began offering crypto trading to customers in the European Union.

Bitstamp has 50 active licenses and registrations worldwide, positioning Robinhood to compete directly with industry leaders like Binance It is Coin base (COIN). Bitstamp’s extensive spot exchange, widely used in Europe and Asia, offers more than 85 tradable assets, including staking and lending services, and aims to fuel the growth of Robinhood Crypto as its first institutional business.

“The acquisition of Bitstamp is an important step in growing our crypto business,” said Johann Kerbrat, general manager at Robinhood Crypto. “Bitstamp’s long-standing, highly reliable global exchange has shown resilience through market cycles.”

Although this deal is expected to close in the first half of next year, Robinhood’s crypto business is thriving – generating about a fifth of the company’s net revenue in the first quarter – despite regulatory challenges in the US

Semler Scientific follows Microstrategy’s Bitcoin playbook

Scientific Semler (SMLR) announced last Thursday that it will bolster its existing bitcoin holdings with a recent $17 million purchase, while also planning to raise $150 million. In May, the healthcare company announced a $40 million bitcoin acquisition, which subsequently increased its shares by about 25%. The company now owns 828 bitcoins in total.

Semler Scientific has strategically diversified by incorporating bitcoin into its corporate strategy. CEO Doug Murphy-Chutorian stated: “Semler remains focused on our dual strategies of expanding our healthcare business and acquiring and holding bitcoin.”

Semler’s recent announcement aligns with the broader trend of publicly traded companies holding significant amounts of bitcoin, collectively totaling 308,688 BTC worth about $21.4 billion, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Microstrategy (MSTR) is the most notable example here, holding nearly $15 billion worth of bitcoins, but others include Tesla (TSLA) and Block (SQUARE).

Semler shares jumped shortly after the announcement and are trading about 27% higher compared to last Thursday’s close. Microstrategy shares have more than doubled since the start of the year as its bitcoin portfolio has benefited from rising bitcoin prices.

What to expect from the markets this week

Market watchers in both traditional financial and cryptocurrency markets will be keeping an eye on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference on Wednesday for clues about when the central bank might move towards reducing interest rates.

Higher than expected inflation data in the past has led to a decline in bitcoin prices as it creates uncertainty about when the Fed will cut rates and by how much.

The Fed’s anti-inflation campaign of raising interest rates has driven up bond yields, making them more attractive to investors – not just because of the returns, but also because bonds tend to carry less risk.

Outside of bitcoin, meme-based tokens on Solana, especially those backed by various celebrities, continue to attract attention from investors who prefer to bet on small-cap crypto assets. In particular, MOTHER, which is backed by Australian artist Iggy Azalea, has risen from less than $0.01 to over $0.20 in recent weeks, meaning its market capitalization is almost $200 million. .

Fuente