BlackRock & Bitcoin: A Peculiar Affair
It seems the desire to expand the Bitcoin strategy continues, only now tailored for those investors who require a… regular payment. How quaint.
It seems the desire to expand the Bitcoin strategy continues, only now tailored for those investors who require a… regular payment. How quaint.
The announcement arrived on January 26th, presented with the solemnity of a state decree. A “non-custodial” strategy, they proclaim. As if handing you a shovel and saying, “Dig your own hole, but we’ll watch.” They retain the power, naturally. They always do.
Crypto markets are skipping into a phase of bouncing optimism as sentiment brightens across the digital asset carnival. Prices sit ready for a swashbuckling advance, steered by regulatory momentum, institutional clout, and maturing use cases, according to Ripple’s captain of coins, Brad Garlinghouse. The outlook suggests this cycle has room to wiggle before tea-time.
Powell faces a criminal probe as the Federal Open Market Committee convenes. The replacement for Trump’s unsettled fancy looms near; and interest rates, stubborn as a stubborn usher, are forecast to remain at 3.5%-3.75%, a steadiness that would please even a clockmaker. In earlier days, the board trimmed seventy-five basis points across three meetings, a drama of reductions that had the crowd roaring for a sooner encore.
Initially, the odds favored Kevin Hassett, a man whose economic views align with Trump’s like a well-tailored Savile Row suit. But, as is the wont of this administration, the winds have shifted, and now the bookies are laying their money on BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer, Rick Rieder, a man whose name sounds more like a minor character in a P.G. Wodehouse novel than a potential Fed Chair.

Details, as relayed by the all-knowing oracle of onchain data, Lookonchain, tell us that our “insider” hero closed a staggering 427.29 BTC worth $37.5 million and a mere 30,588 ETH valued at $88.63 million. All this, mind you, on a day when the market thought it would be fun to pull a fast one on everyone. The coup de grace: a withdrawal of 20 million USDC from Hyperliquid to Binance, as if he was just popping out for a quick coffee (which he was, probably to drown his sorrows).

Indeed, the illustrious US Senate Agriculture Committee has confirmed it will hold a grand markup hearing at 10:30 a.m. ET. The purpose of this gathering is to scrutinize, debate, and perhaps even amend the latest draft of a certain digital asset market structure bill-fondly called the Digital Commodities Intermediary Act. How thrilling to think that this committee, which primarily oversees commodities markets and the enigmatic Commodity Futures Trading Commission, now finds itself at the very heart of the ongoing and ever-enthralling debate over crypto oversight and authority-that eternal tug-of-war between who is in charge and who merely pretends to be.
This little shopping trip brings their average cost per Bitcoin down to a cozy $76,037. All this while Bitcoin is doing the wobbly dance in January, slipping from high-flying prices above $95,000 to the nostalgic low $80,000s. It’s like watching a soap opera with more ups and downs than a rollercoaster!

Santiment, the digital oracle of asset analytics, proclaims that these three stalwarts are adorned with negative percentages for their 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratios. Who knew numbers could wear such dreary attire?

On the 1-day chart, the structure is more bearish than a critic at a Mel Brooks movie. That drop on January 20th? Fuhgeddaboutit! Below $0.066? That’s not a dip, that’s a plot twist!