Key facts
- Bitcoin's price rose sharply, nearing $79,000, with a 23% weekly increase.
- US Treasury plans to double long-dated bond buybacks are seen as a liquidity-boosting measure.
- Standard Chartered forecasts Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by year-end.
- Metaplanet is expanding its Bitcoin treasury strategy to the US via a deal with Super League Enterprise.
- Cypherpunk Technologies acquired a Zcash mining fleet for $33.33 million.
- The CFTC is reviewing AI compute futures contracts.
Bitcoin's price surged toward $79,000, fueled by an announcement from the US Treasury to at least double its buyback operations for certain long-dated bonds. This move is interpreted by some as a liquidity-boosting measure that could benefit risk assets like Bitcoin, even without being formally classified as quantitative easing.
Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick stated that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by year-end, potentially exceeding its all-time high, provided it holds key technical levels. The bank noted that Bitcoin's recent bear market has been relatively shallow with dampened volatility.
In other crypto business news, Metaplanet plans to expand its Bitcoin treasury strategy to the United States by acquiring a controlling stake in Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise, which will be renamed Superplanet. Metaplanet will contribute 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash to the deal.
Cypherpunk Technologies is also expanding its operations by acquiring a Zcash mining fleet from Winklevoss Capital for $33.33 million in equity, giving it approximately 18% of the network's hashrate. The company holds a significant amount of ZEC and sees mining as having attractive economics.
Meanwhile, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is seeking public comment on futures contracts tied to AI computing capacity, a move that could impact planned compute futures from CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange.