Weekly Wrap: Bitcoin Treads Water As Stocks Rally

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) was treading water and stuck around $77,000 U.S. on May 22 as stocks closed out a winning week.

U.S. equities rallied heading into the Memorial Day long weekend, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 300 points and the S&P 500 index back near an all-time high. Stocks moved higher following strong earnings from chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ: $NVDA), and as Treasury yields and oil prices moved lower. 

However, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH) continue to trade sideways despite the rise in stock prices. Analysts say BTC appears rangebound between $75,000 U.S. and $80,000 U.S., and that yields on U.S. Treasurys need to fall further before a rally is sparked in cryptocurrencies.

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Here’s what else happened in the crypto sector over the past five days:

Trump Media Moves To Sell Bitcoin: Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ: $DJT) has moved to sell 2,650 Bitcoin worth $205 million U.S. as losses on its cryptocurrency holdings reach $455 million U.S. The company bought 11,542 Bitcoin at an average price of $118,522 U.S., far above where BTC is currently trading. 

Congress Probes Kalshi And Polymarket: A congressional oversight committee in Washington, D.C. has launched a probe into allegations of insider trading at prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is seeking information from Kalshi and Polymarket on their efforts to prevent insider trading on their platforms. The probe is the latest attempt by Congress to reign-in prediction markets that let people bet on real world events such as wars and elections.

Cathie Wood Buys Bullish Stock: Ark Invest has bought $12.5 million U.S. of Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) stock over the past four days, adding the shares across its exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The investment firm led by Cathie Wood has loaded up on the stock of Bullish, a crypto exchange that caters to institutional clients, as the share price has fallen 7% this week.

Bitcoin Miner Stocks Rise After Nvidia’s Earnings: Shares of Bitcoin miners tied to the artificial intelligence (A.I.) buildout rose after chipmaker Nvidia reported blockbuster financial results. Bitcoin miners with exposure to A.I. and high-performance computing data centres moved higher after Nvidia’s latest print as global demand remains strong. Shares of Core Scientific (NASDAQ: $CORZ), Cipher Mining (NASDAQ: $CIFR), Hut 8 (NASDAQ: $HUT) and HIVE Digital (NASDAQ: $HIVE) each gained ground.

Securitize To Go Public Via SPAC Deal: Asset tokenization platform Securitize is planning to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Once the deal is completed, Securitize will trade on the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: $NDAQ) exchange. Securitize plans to merge with Cantor Equity Partners II, a Nasdaq-listed SPAC that trades under the ticker symbol “CEPT.”

Binance Lets Investors Bet On SpaceX IPO: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is letting investors bet on the valuation of SpaceX ahead of the company’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO). Privately held Binance has launched a SpaceX-linked “Pre-IPO Perpetual Contract” that enables retail investors to speculate on the rocket maker’s valuation ahead of its June IPO. SpaceX’s IPO is expected to be the largest in history, with the Elon Musk-led company expected to be valued as high as $2 trillion U.S.

Polymarket Expands Sports Betting With Parlays: Polymarket is growing its sports betting platform with the addition of parlays. The prediction market platform has filed with regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to list “combinatorial outcome contracts” that are basically parlays. In sports betting, parlays are a single bet that combines two or more individual wagers together. To win a parlay, every single bet must be correct.

Hut 8 Invests In Louisiana’s Water System: Canadian crypto miner A.I. data centre operator Hut 8 is investing $16 million U.S. to upgrade and expand Louisiana’s water system. Hut 8 has entered an agreement with West Feliciana Parish to invest millions to expand local water system capacity in connection with its River Bend A.I. data centre campus. Hut 8 is in the process of expanding its energy-intensive A.I data centre operations in the U.S.

TD Cowen Sees 140% Upside In Strategy Stock: Strategy’s (NASDAQ: $MSTR) stock has gotten a price target boost. TD Cowen (NYSE: $TD) has raised its price target on MSTR shares to $400 U.S., saying it sees accelerating Bitcoin purchases and a cleaner balance sheet as catalysts for the company. The new price target from TD Cowen is 140% higher than where Strategy’s stock currently trades. Strategy’s total holdings of Bitcoin stand at 843,738 tokens, purchased at a cost of $64 billion U.S.