Clapp Weekly: Market optimism amid cooling rally, ETF inflows, Microsoft's rejection
Price dynamics
BTC price
Following a fresh ATH of $103,679, Bitcoin's surge has cooled amid sweeping liquidations. Despite the pullback, analysts remain optimistic, interpreting it as a necessary consequence of astronomical gains.
Rebounding from under $95k, BTC achieved its spectacular record high on Thursday, December 5, before sinking below $96.5k and spending three days above $98k. Losing steam, it bounced off a 7-day low of $94,561.74 yesterday.
Currently, at $98,231.33, the coin is up 1.2% over seven days and 0.6% over 24 hours.
ETH price
As Bitcoin and alts corrected, ETH lost its grip on $4k. Yet futures data shows professionals remain unfazed, and ether ETFs have seen steady inflows totalling nearly $1.9B at press time.
Initially, ETH saw milder fluctuations, rising from under $3.7k to $4,067.58 on Friday, December 6. It slipped below the key level on Monday, December 9, and descended sharply through the weekend. Yesterday, the price bottomed out at $3,538.07.
Changing hands at $3,671.60, the second-largest coin is down 0.5% over the past week, losing 1.5% in 24 hours.
Seven-day altcoin dynamics
Altcoins have seen the largest pullback in months following BTC's descent below $100k. Yet despite bullish liquidations, the total market cap has gained over $1 trillion since Trump's reelection.
The hardest-hit alts include TRX (-30.7%), ADA (-16.5%), and XRP (-10.4%), although the latter is still up over 200% this year. The sell-off was connected to BTC's volatility, but the exact triggers leave analysts guessing. Are we looking at a post-rally correction after "overextended exuberance"?
Some blame large sell orders and liquidation-related concerns. Others suspect coordinated selling and worry about further declines. Overall, the market is grappling with uncertainty.
Over the past seven days, SOS (+85.3%) and BGB (+83.4%) have gained the most. The latter hit a new ATH on positive sentiment and CEO's hint at Bitget's US market entry. PEPE (+12.5) has also bucked the negative trend, while dog-themed tokens are in the red.
TRX is doing worse than EOS (-26.3%) and MKR (-25.0%). Last week's high performer, XLM, is down 19.4%, and losses have also extended to AI tokens like GRT (-18.1%).
Cryptocurrency news
Spot Bitcoin ETFs hold more Bitcoin than Satoshi
According to Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas, US spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed 1,104,534 coins — more than the suggested holdings of the mysterious founder Satoshi Nakamoto. Over half of that amount is held by BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
Valued at $51.5 billion, IBIT holds almost 528,000 bitcoins, followed by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), which collectively account for roughly 241,000 BTC. For comparison, Satoshi is estimated to hold exactly 1.1 million. Binance holds nearly half as much — over 633k, while the largest publicly traded whale — MicroStrategy — has just over 402k coins.
Wall Street's embrace of crypto is not just growing, but rapidly expanding. Traditional institutions are now competing to facilitate access through regulated products.
Daily inflows remain strong even despite BTC's recent pullback from its ATH. As per Farside Investors data, the funds attracted nearly $440 million yesterday, continuing a green streak starting November 27.
The total figure of $34.3 billion reflects sustained investor interest since the January launch. Furthermore, the share of US hedge funds having crypto exposure has doubled over the past two years, exceeding 50%, a trend that fosters optimism about the future of crypto investments.
Microsoft shareholders reject BTC investment proposal
Microsoft shareholders have rejected the proposal to convert cash flows, dividends, buybacks, and debt into Bitcoin. Endorsed by MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor, the move was voted down at yesterday's annual meeting.
Previously, Microsoft stated that a think tank, the National Center For Public Policy Research, was preparing a proposal recommending diversification of the balance sheet through BTC. Saylor pitched the idea in a video presentation receiving over 3 million views, saying, "Microsoft can't afford to miss the next technology wave, and Bitcoin is that wave."
Saylor estimated that Microsoft could amass an additional $5 trillion in market value over the next decade if it invested in BTC. Commitment to his thesis has paid off well for MicroStrategy — its shares have rocketed 500% this year.
That wasn't Saylor's first attempt to convince the tech giant, whose shares have gained just 19%. In late September, Microsoft held $78.4 billion worth of cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. It has been accepting customer payments in crypto since 2014.
In October, a proxy filing stated the company's treasury and investment services team had evaluated BTC and other crypto and continued monitoring trends. However, proxy advisors Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services recommended rejecting the idea, and so did the Microsoft board.
