Standard Chartered Sees Signs of Bitcoin Bottom

Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick on Friday told clients that he believes crypto asset prices have seen the low in the current cycle and he is looking for confirmation in three indicators: Strategy’s reporting that it bought more Bitcoin last week; crypto exchange-traded funds (ETF) saw positive inflows on Friday; and, oil prices continue to break lower.

“We have now seen the low in crypto asset prices for the cycle. That would be USD59k for BTC (53% down from USD126k high),” Kendrick said in a brief note to clients on Friday. The biggest crypto was last trading on Sunday at about $63,704, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Depending on how investors read Strategy chief Michael Saylor’s near-weekly tweet issued earlier on Sunday, The first sign that Kendrick is watching for may have come. 

“Still adding dots,” was Saylor’s message that accompanied the now-familiar dot, or bubble, chart that the Strategy executive frequently includes in his social media posts teasing forthcoming BTC purchases. 

Michael Saylor’s tweet on Sunday had more than a half a million views by mid-afternoon, ET. Source: Michael Saylor on X.com

As for the other indicators of a BTC bottom that StanChart’s global head of digital assets research cited, Bitcoin ETFs on Friday posted one-day net inflow of $85.84 million, with investors moving money into five of the funds while eight of the US-traded BTC ETFs had no net change, according to data tracked by SoSoValue.com. Crude oil futures fell on Friday for the second straight day, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Kendrick closed his note with: “Winter is over. Welcome back to crypto Spring.“

Related: Bitcoin sales are necessary for Strategy’s digital credit business, Saylor says

Surprise Bitcoin sale defended as “necessary“ defense of digital credit

Strategy disclosed its first reported Bitcoin sale since 2022 in a June 1 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, offloading 32 BTC in a move that appeared at odds with Saylor’s long-running “never sell your Bitcoin“ mantra. He defended that sale, saying the ability to sell the asset is necessary to continue issuing “digital credit.“

“If the company’s policy is that we won’t sell the Bitcoin, then the credit won’t have value and the equity won’t have value,” he told Cointelegraph at the BTC Prague conference.

Cointelegraph’s Ciaran Lyons (left) and Strategy founder Michael Saylor (right) at BTC Prague. Source: Cointelegraph

Saylor said that Bitcoin treasury companies must retain the ability to sell holdings when necessary to support dividend-paying securities and other BTC-backed credit products.

Magazine: Bitcoin, the ‘canary in the coal mine,’ XRP transaction demand falls 91.5%: Market Moves