Latest news with #PrestoResearch
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Famous Wall Street Short Seller Is Taking Aim At MicroStrategy: Should You Worry?
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Jim Chanos has said he is actively shorting MicroStrategy. Chanos poked at MicroStrategy's NAV premium. Presto Research has weighed in on whether investors should worry. Long-time investors in MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) have probably weathered it all, from early concerns over the risks of the firm's Bitcoin accumulation strategy to harsh mockery in bear markets and questions over whether the firm can sustain demand with the emergence of spot exchange-traded funds and copycat firms. But even for these investors with nerves of steel forged through many fires, it is hard not to get unnerved hearing that one of the most famous short sellers in history, Jim Chanos, has taken aim at the business. Should you worry? Don't Miss: — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different strategies. Grow your IRA or 401(k) with Crypto – . Chanos told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday that he was shorting MicroStrategy while longing Bitcoin. The investor most famous for finding cracks in Enron's business and successfully shorting it ahead of its eventual collapse slammed MicroStrategy's valuation at a premium to Bitcoin as 'ridiculous' even as other firms are copying its playbook of using leverage to accumulate the digital asset. Chanos told CNBC he was 'short the spread' because it was 'so levered to the price.' 'We're doing exactly what MicroStrategy and [executive chairman] Michael Saylor are doing,' he added. 'We're selling MicroStrategy stock and buying bitcoin and basically buying something for $1, selling it for two and a half dollars.' Meanwhile, this trade does not mean Chanos is bullish on Bitcoin or sees value in it. 'I don't know where bitcoin is going. A hundred thousand, a million, 10,000? I don't know, I don't think anybody else knows,' he told CNBC. 'But what I do know is it's generally profitable to short $1 for two and a half dollars or $3.' To Chanos, it is simply an arbitrage opportunity betting on MicroStrategy's premium to net asset value shrinking. The firm currently trades at 1.8 times the premium to its Bitcoin holdings, boasting a market cap of $108 billion against $59 billion worth of Bitcoin. This premium hit a high of 2.5 times the NAV in October. Trending: New to crypto? on Coinbase. In a Friday note, cryptocurrency research firm Presto Research said there was 'no reason for panic' among MicroStrategy investors over Chanos' trade. 'MSTR's periodic BTC accumulation resembles a growing balance sheet fueled by recurring income. This allows investors who view BTC as an eventual store of value to assign an earnings multiple to MSTR's BTC acquisitions,' the firm said, justifying MicroStrategy's premium. In simple terms, the argument is that if investors believe that Bitcoin will be worth more in the future, they can value MicroStrategy not just by the current price of its Bitcoin holdings but also by the expected growth of its holdings and earnings from those holdings as the price appreciates. But Presto Research noted that this valuation model may not hold in a bear market, making Chanos' trade a complex bet on a BTC downturn. 'Whether Chanos understands Bitcoin enough to make that call remains questionable,' the firm said. Chanos wound down his hedge fund in November 2023 as years-long losing shorts against Tesla and AOL weighed on his profitability. 'The marketplace for what I do has changed,' Chanos told The Wall Street Journal at the time. Read Next: A must-have for all crypto enthusiasts: . 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. Image: Shutterstock Send To MSN: 0 This article Famous Wall Street Short Seller Is Taking Aim At MicroStrategy: Should You Worry? originally appeared on
Mint
14-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Bitcoin price today sustains above $103k. Can lower market volatility induce further upmove? Here's what experts say
Bitcoin price today: The world's biggest cryptocurrency gained over 1.5 per cent on Wednesday, May 14, and held steady above the $103,000 level for a second straight day, data on CoinMarketCap showed. Bitcoin was trading at $103,495.57 at 9.30 am today, up 1.57 per cent over the previous day, with the market capitalisation of the world's largest crypto token at $2.05 trillion. The trading volume for Bitcoin soared 20.52 per cent to $50.16 billion (up over the past 24 hours), data showed. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin's dominance in the overall crypto market is at 61.2 per cent. This represents the percentage of Bitcoin's total market cap compared to the total market cap of all other tokens combined. Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex, told Livemint that Bitcoin is hovering around $103,700 after briefly testing resistance at $105,000, supported by better-than-expected April CPI data at 2.3 per cent. Presto Research noted that Bitcoin's dominance has reached levels last seen before the 2021 bull market, and capital is starting to flow into altcoins. The second-biggest crypto token Ethereum was at $2,647.38, up 8.55 per cent over the previous day, with a market cap of $319.95 billion, while stablecoin Tether was at $0.9997, up 0.03 per cent, with a market cap of $150.31 billion. Donald Trump's favoured Solana was also up 6.97 per cent at $180.92, with a market cap of $93.97 billion. Data from CoinShares showed that investments in crypto funds jumped by $882 million, rising for the third consecutive week. It credited a combination of factors such as risks of stagflation in the US, growth of M2 money supply globally, and forward movement with the strategic bitcoin reserve by US states. Of the tokens, it said Bitcoin saw funds of $867 million, followed by Ethereum ($1.5 million), and XRP ($1.4 million), while investments in Solana decreased by $3.4 million. Himanshu Maradiya, Founder and Chairman of crypto exchange CIFDAQ noted that crypto market remains range-bound. He said that meme coins are capturing retail attention, and on the stablecoin front, Tether supply has exceeded $150 billion, representing 63 per cent of the $238 billion stablecoin market, and facilitating over $521 billion in weekly transfers, surpassing traditional payment networks in volume. HTX Reserch noted that institutional investors, such as BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF infusions, and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, are driving growth. Patel added, 'This is the third straight month of cooling inflation, strengthening expectations of Fed rate cuts in 2025 and boosting the outlook for risk assets. Interestingly, Bitcoin's 10-day realised volatility dropped to 43.86, lower than S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 at 47.29 and 51.26 respectively, showing the increasing maturity of Bitcoin as an asset. The lower volatility, cooling inflation and a trade war truce create favourable market conditions for Bitcoin's next leg of rally.' Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, suggested some caution due to profit booking. 'The crypto market cap has fallen despite continued positive traction in the equity market. The strengthening dollar on news of tariffs has been a natural drag on cryptos. This is doubly true due to Bitcoin's proximity to the highs, reinforcing the pull for short-term profit taking after rallying in just over a month,' he pointed.
Mint
14-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Bitcoin price today: Sustains above $103k, can lower market volatity induce further up move? Here's what experts say…
Bitcoin price today: The world's biggest cryptocurrency was near $103,496 at time of writing on May 14, steady above the $103,000 level for a second straight day, data on CoinMarketCap showed. Bitcoin was trading at $103,495.57 at 9.30 am on May 14, up 1.57 per cent from the previous day, with market capitalisation of $2.05 trillion, and trading volume of $50.16 billion (up 20.52 per cent) over the past 24 hours, it showed. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin's dominance in the overall crypto market is at 61.2 per cent. This represents the percentage of Bitcoin's total market cap compared to the total market cap of all other tokens combined. Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex told Livemint that Bitcoin hovering around $103,700 after briefly testing resistance at $105,000, is supported by better-than-expected April CPI data at 2.3 per cent. Presto Research noted that Bitcoin's dominance has reached levels last seen before the 2021 bull market, and capital is starting to flow into altcoins. Second biggest crypto token Ethereum was at $2,647.38 up 8.55 per cent over the previous day, with market cap of $319.95 billion; while stablecoin Tether was at $0.9997, up 0.03 per cent day-on-day, with market cap of $150.31 billion. Donald Trump's favoured Solana was also up 6.97 per cent to $180.92, with market cap of $93.97 billion. Data from CoinShares showed that for the third week in a row, investments in crypto funds last week jumped by $882 million. It credited a combination of factors such as risks of stagflation in the US, growth of M2 money supply globally, and forward movement with the strategic bitcoin reserve by US states. Of the tokens, Bitcoin saw funds of $867 million, followed by Ethereum ($1.5 million), and XRP ($1.4 million); while investments in Solana decreased by $3.4 million. HTX Reserch noted that institutional investors, such as BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF infusions, and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, are driving growth. Patel added, 'This is the third straight month of cooling inflation, strengthening expectations of Fed rate cuts in 2025 and boosting the outlook for risk assets. Interestingly, Bitcoin's 10-day realized volatility dropped to 43.86, lower than S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 at 47.29 and 51.26 respectively, showing the increasing maturity of Bitcoin as an asset. The lower volatility, cooling inflation and a trade war truce, creates favorable market conditions for Bitcoin's next leg of rally.' Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro suggested some caution due to profit booking. 'The crypto market cap has fallen despite continued positive traction in the equity market. The strengthening dollar on news of tariffs has been a natural drag on cryptos. This is doubly true due to Bitcoin's proximity to the highs, reinforcing the pull for short-term profit taking after rallying in just over a month,' he pointed. Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ETH Surges 20%, Biggest Gain Since 2021 as Pectra Upgrade Helps Restore 'Confidence'
Ethereum's ether ETH led the market in early Asia hours as traders reacted favorably to the protocol's recent Pectra upgrade, sending the token up nearly 20%, the biggest gain since 2021, and trading above $2100 according to market data from CoinDesk. The move comes amid a broader crypto market rally that coincided with bitcoin BTC soaring past $100,000 for the first time in three months. Ethereum's Pectra upgrade, its most substantial overhaul since the 2022 Merge, represents a sweeping protocol hard fork, as CoinDesk previously reported. The upgrade consolidates validator operations by raising the staking limit from 32 to 2,048 ETH (via EIP-7251), advances wallet usability through account abstraction mechanisms allowing temporary smart contract functionality (via EIP-7702), and implements nine other Ethereum Improvement Proposals. "ETH is finally catching up after lagging behind BBTC for most of the year. While BTC is nearing its all-time high, ETH is still down nearly 50% from its 2024 peak," Ming Jung from Presto Research wrote to CoinDesk in a note. The Pectra upgrade, Jung said, "helped restore some confidence, and with ETHBTC down nearly 40% year-to-date at 0.02, it's not surprising to see buyers stepping in at these levels." In a recent research report, CryptoQuant wrote that weak network activity on the Ethereum blockchain, which hasn't grown since 2021, suggests that a recovery to prior highs isn't imminent despite the rally. In a market update, Flowdesk wrote that they see the crypto market broadly regaining momentum, with bitcoin passing $100K and a return to risk appetite, with investors shifting from caution to chasing higher-yield altcoins and structured products. "We're seeing a recycling of sell flow into higher-momentum plays, a shift from the caution that's defined the last two months. While still below Q4 2024 levels, beta appetite is clearly building," Flowdesk wrote. March Zheng, General Partner of Bizantine Capital, told CoinDesk in a message that traders should remember that Ethereum has typically been the main on-chain altcoin indicator for risk-on, and its sizable upticks generally lead to broader altcoin rallies. Elsewhere in crypto, bitcoin (BTC) is trading above $102.5K as ETF inflow continues to be positive. In a recent note, Standard Chartered said that its second quarter target of $120,000 might be "too conservative. Other market observers consider current upside targets to be "too low." Meanwhile, the CoinDesk 20, a measure of the performance of the largest digital assets, is up over 10%.Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto Weekly: Amazon outage impacts Binance, Bhutan mines 'green'
STORY: From seized crypto in China. To 'green' mining in Bhutan. :: Crypto Weekly This is Crypto Weekly. :: China's seized crypto China's growing pile of cryptocurrencies seized from illegal transactions is prompting local governments to find ways of disposing the hoard. And is spurring calls from courts and the financial industry for better regulation. Lawyers say the lack of rules around how authorities should handle seized bitcoin and other tokens has spawned inconsistent approaches. And some fear this could embolden lawbreakers and foster corruption. Crypto trading is banned on the mainland. :: Crypto investors 'sidelined' Outflows from Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. surged last week as trade war concerns gripped the market. According to data from SoSoValue - the 12 Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of over $700 million - a more than 300% increase from the week before. Peter Chung from Presto Research told Reuters that this wasn't a surprise. :: Peter Chung, Head of Research, Presto Research "I think similar to what we are seeing in the traditional finance market, there is generally a risk of trade happening in the crypto space as well. For the time being unless we get some more clarity on how the growth outlook is going to look like in the midst of all these tariff negotiations, I think people will generally stay sidelined on investment in risk-on-assets that includes crypto ETFs as well." :: Amazon's outage Crypto exchange Binance said it briefly stopped allowing users to withdraw from the platform on Tuesday. It was due to an issue involving an Amazon Web Services data center. A spokesperson for Binance said withdrawals were suspended for around 23 minutes. :: Bhutan turns to 'green' crypto The Himalayan nation of Bhutan is exploring ways to mine and leverage green cryptocurrencies using hydropower. Its sovereign wealth fund says it could boost its economy and create jobs to reduce brain drain. Green cryptocurrencies are mined using clean energy resources such as wind, hydro or solar power.
