Bitcoin hits new record above $123,000 as 'Crypto Week' kicks off on Capitol Hill: CNBC Crypto World
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
MicroStrategy Bolsters Its Bitcoin War Chest
Fitting, given its recent name change, Strategy — the Michael Saylor company formerly known as MicroStrategy — is thinking really, really big when it comes to bitcoin. On Monday, the company, a self-styled business intelligence and cloud-based services firm, announced that it had purchased 6,220 bitcoin worth $739.8 million last week. That adds to an already massive stockpile. Massive enough, in fact, that the company now owns roughly 3% of all bitcoin in circulation. READ ALSO: Fine Print: ETFs Born in Banner Year May Lack Staying Power and Gates-Backed 'Green Steel' Startup Clears Key Milestone Bit by Bit In total, Strategy owns 607,770 coins, worth roughly $72 billion as of late Monday. That's enough to make Strategy the world's largest corporate owner of the preeminent cryptocurrency, and is the result of a buying strategy (pun intended) that began back in 2020 as the firm sought a hedge against inflation. Along the way, Strategy has funded its bitcoin buying spree by issuing a combination of common and preferred shares, as well as via debt (case in point: the company said last week's bitcoin purchases were fueled by the proceeds of a roughly $740 million share sale, the vast majority of which were common shares). The gambit by the so-called bitcoin treasury appears to be paying off so far: Shares of Strategy have soared roughly 3,500% since the company began its bitcoin-buying campaign, while the price of bitcoin has soared some 1,100% over the same time. That compares with a measly 120% rise in the overall S&P 500 during the same time, according to a recent Bloomberg analysis. Coming Attractions: The timing of Strategy's latest bitcoin gains was hardly a surprise. Last week also marked 'Crypto Week' on Capitol Hill, with a flurry of pro-crypto industry bills passing in the lower chamber of Congress. Meanwhile, federal officials have been pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider crypto holdings in their mortgage risk assessments, further legitimizing the digital currencies. It's no surprise, then, that Saylor has already hinted at what the company plans to do next: buy more bitcoin. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. 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
Axios
7 hours ago
- Axios
Exclusive: Emmer confident Senate will pass crypto market structure bill
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said at an Axios News Shapers event Wednesday that he's confident the Senate will take up a sweeping market structure bill. Why it matters: Emmer has been one of the most vocal advocates in Congress for the crypto industry and has been pushing the Senate to take up House-passed crypto bills. "This is a non-partisan issue," Emmer told Axios' Hans Nichols. Catch up quick: The House passed three major cryptocurrency bills as part of "Crypto Week" earlier this month, including Emmer's Anti- CBDC bill. The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday released its own draft version of the crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, that also passed the House this month. What's next: Emmer said he leaves it up to Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on how the Senate will pass the CLARITY Act, but he sees "no reason" why the bill can't pass on it's own.
CNBC
9 hours ago
- CNBC
House bill would expand the pool of people who can buy certain investments — if they can pass an SEC test
More consumers could gain access to investments typically reserved for the wealthy — provided they can pass a test from regulators — under proposed bipartisan legislation. The U.S. House of Representatives Monday approved a bill to expand the definition of who can qualify as a so-called "accredited investor" under federal securities laws. Accredited investors are permitted to invest in a wider range of assets, including pre-IPO companies, private credit and equity, venture capital and hedge funds. The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act of 2025 would direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to create a test that individuals can take to qualify as an accredited investor, without regard to their wealth or income. Currently, to qualify as accredited, investors generally need an annual earned income of $200,000 for individuals, or $300,000 for married couples. Individuals or couples can also qualify with a total net worth of at least $1 million, not including the value of their primary residence. (Those thresholds are not pegged to inflation and haven't changed in decades; as a result, more households have become accredited over the years as wealth and incomes grow.) "In my view, wealth alone is not a particularly strong judge of whether someone should be an accredited investor, or not," Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., the bill's sponsor, said on the House floor. "A better one is whether someone has the knowledge to accurately weigh the benefits and risks of private offerings." The bill must still pass the Senate and be signed by the President before it can become law. Accredited investor rules are about consumer protection: The limits "ensure that all participating investors are financially sophisticated and able to fend for themselves or sustain the risk of loss," according to the SEC's Private securities are less liquid, harder to value and more volatile than publicly-traded assets, experts say. The bill asks that the SEC test be designed to determine whether an individual understands different types of securities, financial statements and risks associated with private assets, including their limited liquidity and disclosures, subjective valuations and longer investment horizons. "The exam created by this bill is meant to strike the right balance between rigorously testing for sophistication and not being set to such a difficult standard that even an intelligent investor could not pass it," Flood said. The proposal is also aimed at getting more money into the hands of start-up businesses. "Small business leaders say that it's not a lack of ideas, but a lack of capital that holds them back," Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., co-sponsor of the bill, said on the floor. "This bill opens up new sources of funding from a pool of investors more reflective of the community, so that these founders can turn their vision into jobs and economic growth."Companies are already gearing up for more investors to be qualified to participate in private markets. "I think this is really a great first step in terms of opening up what has otherwise been a walled garden," said Eric Satz, founder and CEO of Alto, a self-directed IRA platform. "We have to give everyone the opportunity to participate as if they were an ultra-high net worth investor or a large financial institution." Many financial advisors are lukewarm on private investments, and explore them with high-net-worth clients only after all the basics are covered. "I would argue that a lot of investors shouldn't go anywhere near this," said certified financial planner Catherine Valega, founder of Green Bee Advisory, a Boston-based financial advisory firm. "Probably 95% of the country doesn't even have an emergency savings fund, and now you're going to tell them, if they're smart enough, I can invest in private securities. That does not make sense to me."
