Latest news with #RayYoussef
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Expect the crypto rally to cool in August as new tariffs ratchet up macroeconomic concerns
Institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies has been trouncing the macroeconomic narrative as the main performance driver for the past two months. Now investors should look for a reversal of that dynamic over the coming month, however. Ether stole the spotlight from bitcoin in July, roaring ahead more than 49% in the month, but bitcoin still managed an 8% gain and climbed to a new all-time high at mid-month. The price action in both coins was largely supported by inflows into ETFs – a steady stream of new investment dollars that continued in bitcoin ETFs and was coupled with a sudden explosion of flows into ether funds – as well as the new crop of crypto treasury companies focused on accumulating the coins. But after the broad sell-off in stocks and rally in bonds on Friday , following weak jobs data and President Donald Trump's new tariffs ranging between 10% and 41% , investors expect crypto to pull back in August with traders likely to dump their more highly speculative and volatile assets. "Bitcoin is caught between ETF-driven optimism and uncertainty around global trade tensions," said Ray Youssef, CEO of crypto app NoOnes. "It remains the risk benchmark, but it may trade in a tighter range unless a new macro catalyst emerges, such as another unexpected rate move or geopolitical shift … I expect August to be relatively muted in terms of price volatility, but deceptively active in terms of positioning." mountain 2025-07-01 Ether (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC) since July 1 Given how hot cryptocurrencies and stocks were in the second quarter, some investors see any pullback as a healthy and strategic cooldown rather than a reaction to a crisis. Especially in what has historically proven a weak trading month for many markets. Among crypto-related stocks, Coinbase gained 27% in the past two months, Galaxy Digital jumped 45%, and the bitcoin miner Iren surged 76%. As part of a rotation from bitcoin to ether-focused plays, ether treasury company Bitmine Immersion soared 136% and stablecoin stock Circle surged more than 400%. "Near term, I think bitcoin stays range-bound unless we get a big macro shift," Pauline Shangett, chief strategy officer at crypto exchange ChangeNOW, told CNBC. "ETH has more momentum thanks to ETF demand and whale activity , which could help it hold up better even in a choppy market," she said, referring to ether, and large investors who hold large positions in a particular asset. Ether ETFs saw more than $5 billion in inflows in July alone, bringing its total inflows to $9.64 to date. Bitcoin ETFs saw monthly inflows of about $6 billion in July, out of a cumulative $55 billion since their introduction. "We are taking advantage of this consolidation and playing for this highly compelling setup to reaccelerate and break out," Read Harvey, technical analyst at Wolfe Research, said in a note Wednesday. "For now, we're buyers of pullbacks in the space and expect reaccelerations in coming weeks, a development that should lead to further crypto outperformance vs. equities." Youssef at NoOnes expects bitcoin to trade between $114,000 and $120,000 for most of August, and find buying support whenever it trades between $103,000 and $109,000. If ether can hold above $3,750 per coin, bulls could push for a retest of $4,000 – a challenging psychological and technical level for traders since the 2021 bull market – with support between $3,200 and $2,900, according to Youssef. "The real wildcard is the September Fed meeting," Youssef said. "[Chair] Jerome Powell's remarks often create sharp, short-term volatility, and with geopolitical tensions rising, we could see sudden shifts in sentiment. Still, unless macro conditions deteriorate significantly, both BTC and ETH appear to be building momentum beneath the surface." —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Its not just bitcoin. Companies are now adding ethereum to their balance sheets.
It's not just bitcoin (BTC-USD) that corporate treasuries are buying. A handful of firms are scooping up ethereum — or its native token, ether (ETH-USD) — as a way to gain exposure to the tech infrastructure behind decentralized finance and digital assets. So far, the companies taking this approach are mainly smaller names in the crypto world, such as BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), chaired by Fundstrat's Tom Lee. One larger player — Coinbase Global (COIN), the parent company of trading network Coinbase — has more than $440 million in holdings, according to crypto and investment tracker CoinGecko. When Coinbase announced in a 2021 blog post that it would become the first publicly traded company to hold ethereum and other assets, in addition to bitcoin, it stated, "We believe that in the future, more and more companies will hold crypto assets on their balance sheet." Ethereum has surged 60% over the past month to hover near $3,800, its highest level since January. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has yet to reclaim its 2021 high north of $4,600. Ethereum allows developers to write programs or contracts that run entirely on its blockchain, or network. It currently leads as the dominant infrastructure that allows businesses and consumers to transact with each other directly without banks, with a market share of more than 51%. "Ethereum lets anyone — whether it's a crypto project, a factory, an artist, an influencer — create their own token and thus their own community and incentivize communities with an economy basically," Ray Youssef, CEO of crypto marketplace NoOnes, told Yahoo Finance. He called tokenization ethereum's "killer app." "You could argue it has more utility than bitcoin," he said. That utility is why firms like BitMine and SharpLink Gaming have increasingly been raising capital to buy ETH, similar to how Strategy (MSTR) and a slew of other companies have added bitcoin to their balance sheets in recent months. Read more: Can you buy crypto with a credit card? See the pros and cons. As with bitcoin, the approach can be risky due to volatile prices. Ethereum prices tumbled in April when President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs announcement roiled markets. The rewards have not been as high as those that bitcoin has offered either: The return on ethereum year to date is 14%, versus bitcoin's 26%. Crypto miner BitMine Immersion Technologies recently announced it holds more than $1 billion in ethereum, or roughly 300,000 tokens. The company, which went public on June 5, has positioned itself as a pure-play on ethereum, betting that owning it is akin to owning the underlying infrastructure behind the convergence of crypto and financial services. "Acquiring $1 billion of ETH1 is a clear signal of our conviction in ethereum's long-term value," Jonathan Bates, CEO of BitMine, said in the press release announcing the news. He noted that the company was "committed to Ethereum's continued growth." BitMine shares surged 25% in one session last week after an SEC filing revealed that billionaire Peter Thiel purchased 9.1% of the firm's common stock through his investment funds. Gaming and sports betting company SharpLink Gaming (SBET) and blockchain tech firm BTCS (BTCS) have also pursued similar treasury strategies. Shares of each are up nearly 200% over the past month. Earlier this month, computing firm Bit Digital (BTBT) announced that it had shifted its entire treasury from bitcoin to ethereum. "We believe Ethereum has the ability to rewrite the entire financial system," Sam Tabar, CEO of Bit Digital, said in a press release. Year to date, the stock is up 17%. Ethereum's surge coincides with the GENIUS Act, landmark legislation signed by President Trump last Friday, moving through Congress. The new law regulates stablecoins, digital tokens backed by assets like the US dollar and short-term treasuries. Optimism over stablecoin's adoption has sent shares of issuer Circle (CRCL) up more than 600% since its IPO on June 5. The company's USD Coins (USDC-USD) run on ethereum. "If real companies and institutional investors are innovating on the blockchain, doesn't that make blockchain networks, and by implication, blockchain network assets (e.g ETH) valuable?" Bernstein's Gautam Chhugani asked in a note last month. "Any company that uses stablecoin tech pays transaction fees to the Ethereum network." To be sure, not all companies see the same value in ethereum as they do in bitcoin. When asked directly whether Strategy would add ETH to its holdings, executive chairman Michael Saylor said in an interview with The Street, "MicroStrategy wouldn't because MicroStrategy is 150% Bitcoin. We do Bitcoin, we're 150% Bitcoin. We're going to be Bitcoin. And the only thing I like more than Bitcoin is more Bitcoin." Indeed, ethereum is by no means replacing bitcoin as the investment of choice for companies, Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat, told Yahoo Finance. Consider it an adjacent strategy. "I don't want people to misconstrue this movement from treasury companies to be viewed [as] ETH is replacing bitcoin. It's just blockchain technology applied in a different way for a different use case," Farrell said. "These companies are just capitalizing on the real world asset [tokenization] trends." Ines Ferre is a Senior Business Reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
Economic Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Cryptocurrency Live News & Updates : Bitcoin Remains Stable Amid Middle East Tensions
20 Jun 2025 | 02:05:11 AM IST Despite rising geopolitical tensions, Bitcoin's price has remained stable, with NoOnes CEO Ray Youssef suggesting it now behaves more like a tech stock than a hedge asset. Recent developments in the cryptocurrency market reveal a complex landscape. Bitcoin's price has remained around $105,000 despite escalating tensions in the Middle East, with CEO Ray Youssef of NoOnes noting that Bitcoin is increasingly acting like a tech stock rather than a hedge asset. Meanwhile, Sei Network's token surged over 13% after being selected as a candidate blockchain for Wyoming's upcoming WYST stablecoin, highlighting growing institutional interest in stablecoins. Ethereum is also gaining traction, with strategic reserves reaching 1% of its total supply, driven by corporate adoption. Notably, major holders like the Ethereum Foundation and SharpLink are leading this trend. On the other hand, Hedera Hashgraph's HBAR token has faced challenges, dropping significantly and forming a death cross pattern, despite the launch of AUDD, the first Australian dollar stablecoin on its network. This juxtaposition of stability in Bitcoin and Ethereum against the backdrop of HBAR's struggles illustrates the diverse dynamics at play in the cryptocurrency market. Show more
