opinion

Crypto SWOT: Bitcoin has advanced above $90,000 for the first time since early March

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 has advanced above $90,000 for the first time since early March teaser image

Strengths

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was TRUMP, rising 85%.
  • Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether Holdings and SoftBank group are in talks to form a $3 billion vehicle to absorb billions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Tether will contribute $1.5 billion of Bitcoin, while Bitfinex and SoftBank plan to put in $600 million and $900 million of the cryptocurrency, respectively, according to Bloomberg.  
  • Bitcoin rose about 3% after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had no intention of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, easing concerns over the central bank’s autonomy. 

article image

Weaknesses

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was Dexe, down 4.78%.
  • A group of investors in the failed crypto lender Celsius Network are urging a federal judge to impose the highest possible punishment on founder Alex Mashinsky, Bloomberg reports, who admitted to fraud in connection with the company’s 2022 collapse. Over 200 investors submitted statements to the court, with many calling for Mashinsky to spend the rest of his life in prison.
  • Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill to block investors from using Puerto Rico as a cryptocurrency tax haven, which is unlikely to advance without Republican support. The bill aims to close a loophole that allows qualified investors living in Puerto Rico to avoid paying local or federal taxes on capital gains, Bloomberg reports. 

Opportunities

  • President Donald Trump will have dinner with the top 220 holders of the Trump memecoin at his private club in Washington on May 22. The top 25 Trump coin holders will also be invited to a reception before the dinner and will be given a tour of the White House, writes Bloomberg.  
  • Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance Holdings, has been named an adviser to Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan and met with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss the country’s potential as a crypto hub, explains Bloomberg. Zhao encourages governments to take a relaxed approach to regulating digital assets and suggests establishing new regulatory agencies.
  • Bitcoin has advanced above $90,000 for the first time since early March, fueling optimism that it is breaking free of its tendency to move in the same direction as U.S. tech stocks. Bitcoin has rallied almost 23% from an April 7 low, trading more akin to gold and begun to decouple from U.S. risk assets, writes Bloomberg.  

Threats

  • Cryptocurrency exchange Meteora, its CEO Bejamin Chow, and venture capital firm Kelsier Labs, are accused of manipulating the trading prices of a newly launched memecoin, reports Bloomberg, causing $69 million in losses to investors.
  • North Korean hackers posing as American tech entrepreneurs quietly registered companies in New York and New Mexico as part of a campaign to compromise developers in the crypto industry. Two businesses, Blocknovas and Softglide, were created using fictious identities and addresses and tied with the Lazarus group, writes Bloomberg.  
  • Shaquille O’Neal has reached a settlement agreement with a group of FTX investors who accused him of enabling the failed crypto exchange’s fraud by acting as a celebrity promoter. Plaintiffs in the case are seeking up to $21 billion in total damages from O’Neal and other promoters, former executives and other insiders, 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:

Bitcoincrypto
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.