opinion

Crypto SWOT: Bitcoin briefly topped $71,000 last week. What’s next?

Kitco Media
By Frank E Holmes
Published:
Updated:
Kitco Commentaries
Opinions, Ideas and Markets Talk

Featuring views and opinions written by market professionals, not staff journalists.

Crypto SWOT: Bitcoin briefly topped $71,000 last week. What’s next? teaser image

Strengths

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Notcoin, rising 84.95%.
  • A more positive U.S. political environment for digital assets will likely help propel Bitcoin to a record amount or even higher by the end of the year, according to Michael Novogratz. “If we take $73,000 in the next couple of weeks or so, we are going to end the year at $100,000 or higher” he commented during a Bloomberg radio interview.  
  • The U.S. is reclaiming its position as the undisputed top dog of cryptocurrency markets, reports Bloomberg. From a crop of record-shattering Bitcoin ETFs to more accommodating regulators, swelling political donations and a rising presidential contender in crypto backer Donald Trump, signs of a U.S. revival are suddenly everywhere. 

Weaknesses

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was Beam, down 14.21%.
  • A crypto investor known as “Bitcoin Jesus” has been released on bail in Spain, where he faces extradition to the U.S. on tax fraud charges. Roger Ve was allowed to leave jail May 17 after posting $163,000 in bail on the condition that he remains in Spain and hand in his passport, writes Bloomberg.  
  • MicroStrategy and its co-founder and Chairman Michael Saylor will pay $40 million to resolve a tax fraud lawsuit. The attorney general of Washington, DC, alleged the billionaire failed to pay more than $25 million in income taxes. 

Opportunities

  • Bitcoin briefly topped $71,000 this week, with crypto investment products seeing inflows for the fourth consecutive week and the latest GameStop frenzy driving memecoin speculation, writes Bloomberg. 

  • Kraken, one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, is considering raising a final funding round ahead of a possible initial public offering after receiving inquiries from potential investors during the current digital-asset market rally, writes Bloomberg.  
  • Turkey isn’t planning to tax profits on stocks and cryptocurrency, the country’s Treasury and Finance Minister said. As reported by Bloomberg, the government is considering a “very limited” transaction tax on the assets.

Threats

  • Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin plans to raise 50 billion yen from group companies and plow the funds into buying the largest digital asset to make customers whole after suffering a major hack. The outflow was equivalent to 4,503 Bitcoin or roughly $320 million at around 7:15am London time, writes Bloomberg. 
  • Crypto trading company NovaTechFX and crypto mining company AWS Mining defrauded investors out of more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency, according to a lawsuit filed in New York. A state investigation revealed that investors deposited over $1 billion of crypto to NovaTech from 2019 to 2023 but less than $26 million was actually traded, writes Bloomberg.  
  • U.S. lawmakers accused Nigeria of taking a Binance Holdings executive “hostage” and urged President Biden to help secure his release. A U.S. citizen, Gambaryan, is head of financial crime compliance at Binance and has been held at a prison in the Nigerian capital since April, writes Bloomberg. 
Kitco Media

Frank E Holmes

Frank Holmes is CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, Inc., a boutique investment advisory firm based in San Antonio that manages domestic and offshore funds specializing in the natural resources and emerging markets sectors. The company’s no-load mutual funds include the Global Resources Fund (ticker PSPFX), the World Precious Minerals Fund (UNWPX) and the Gold Shares Fund (USERX).

Please consider carefully the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For this and other important information, obtain a fund prospectus by visiting www.usfunds.com or by calling 1-800-US-FUNDS (1-800-873-8637). Read it carefully before investing. Distributed by U.S. Global Brokerage, Inc.

All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. Foreign and emerging market investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and less public disclosure, as well as economic and political risk.

The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index is an international benchmark tracking the world’s leading gold companies with the intent to provide an investable representative index of publicly-traded international gold companies. The FTSE Gold Mines Index Series encompasses all gold mining companies that have a sustainable and attributable gold production of at least 300,000 ounces a year, and that derive 75% or more of their revenue from mined gold.

Holdings as a percentage of net assets as of 6/30/07: Jiangxi Copper (China Region Opportunity Fund 1.74%); Silvercorp Metals Inc. (World Precious Minerals Fund 2.78%, Global Resources Fund 0.89%, China Region Opportunity Fund 2.42%); Gold Fields Ltd. (Gold Shares Fund 6.05%, World Precious Minerals Fund 2.58%, Global Resources Fund 0.39%); Sino Gold Mining Ltd. (Gold Shares Fund 1.03%, World Precious Minerals Fund 0.58%, China Region Opportunity Fund 0.27%); Anglogold Ashanti (0.0%); Dynasty Gold (0.0%).

Mdi Earth Logo

Tags:

CoinMarketCapcryptocurrencies
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.