Bitcoin Reached a New All-Time High of $99,645

Bitcoin Reached a New All-Time High of $99,645

Stay up to date with our monthly market commentary:

• Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new all-time high of $99,645 in November.
• Options on BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading on the NASDAQ.
• MicroStrategy encourages more public companies to use Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
• Bitcoin (BTC) is up 35.6%, while Ether (ETH) is up 41.9% compared to last month.*

Market Overview - October

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) rallied by 35.6% in November, ending the month at around $98,000.

Historically, election season in the U.S. has been a volatile time for Bitcoin and other digital assets. This year was no different, with Bitcoin rallying by more than 25% since the U.S. Presidential election result was announced.

The world's leading cryptocurrency was a keen talking point for the winning candidate, Donald Trump, who wants to use it as a strategic reserve asset to reduce U.S. debt. This stance towards the digital currency helped to boost the price of Bitcoin.

Senator Cynthia Lummis announced a strategic reserve bill in Nashville earlier this year, and based on the reaction of the future administration, this could soon become a reality.

Furthermore, MicroStrategy acquired 134,480 BTC in November alone. Several public companies, such as Mara Digital Holdings, Semler Scientific, Rumble, Metaplanet, and Boyaa Interactive International, have followed suit, announcing the use of Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset or the acquisition of more of it, further fuelling the bullish market sentiment.

Crypto Asset Market Performance Review

The crypto asset markets finished the month substantially higher, with some of the top assets by market capitalization rallying by more than 35%.

Bitcoin (BTC) has historically performed well in the last quarter of the year. While the start to Q4 this year was positive, November outperformed historical trends following the U.S. elections.

The outcome impacted Bitcoin as well as the broader crypto asset markets.

BTC was up 35.6% in November, with a potential U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve bill on the horizon under the Trump administration.

Ether (ETH) was up 41.9%. The second largest crypto asset has seen an increase in liquidity and newfound interest in NFT marketplaces.

This month's largest gainers were Ripple (XRP) and Cardano (ADA), which closed up 268% and 214%, respectively. XRP saw an influx of whales buying over $1 billion, while ADA saw more trading volume across the spectrum and increased liquidity after shifting its focus to become a Bitcoin Layer 2 network.

Memecoins are also back in full force, following substantial interest in the first half of the year. The likes of Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) booked impressive gains, while blockchains that are seeing a lot of memecoins project launches, such as Solana (SOL), are also benefiting from this renewed trend.

The remainder of the top crypto assets market also had a positive month, with most popular coins finishing the month in the green.

Bitcoin Tech Update

Bitcoin's Layer 2 season continues. With many announcements of new and exciting use cases to scale Bitcoin, we saw the first implementations or tests on various networks this month.

One of the most prominent scaling solutions is the Liquid Network by Blockstream, which uses a Bitcoin pegging mechanism on a Sidechain. This allows users to lock up their Bitcoin and either profit from Liquid's faster block times or lower transaction costs.

Bitcoin Layer 2 scaling solutions aim to utilize technologies such as Sidechains, State Channels, and Rollups. All of these different approaches will inevitably help everyday users lower costs, use their Bitcoin for DeFi solutions, or connect their Bitcoin tech stack to other networks.

Institutional Interest in Bitcoin

November was yet another exciting month for institutional investors, with the launch of options on BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETFs and more public companies announcing or acquiring Bitcoin for their balance sheets.

Options on BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETFs have started trading

To date, BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) was the most successful ETF launch in history.

Earlier this month, options on the ETF began trading on the NASDAQ, and within 60 minutes, over 73,000 contracts were traded. According to CNBC, this places the fund in the top 20 of the most active nonindex options.

Options on the Bitcoin ETFs usher in a new way for investors to trade Bitcoin's volatility and enable fund managers or institutions to hedge their Bitcoin exposure. Other Bitcoin ETFs are expected to have options available soon.

More public companies announce Bitcoin reserve strategies

MicroStrategy is doubling down on its $42 billion capital plan by acquiring 134,480 BTC in November. Its continued Bitcoin reserve strategy has inspired other public companies to follow the pursuit.

In November alone, three public U.S. companies - Mara Digital Holdings (MARA), Rumble (RUM), and Semler Scientific (SMLR) - announced further plans to acquire Bitcoin for their balance sheets.

Metaplanet and the Chinese gaming company Boyaa Interactive International announced dedicated Bitcoin strategies and debt issuance to acquire more BTC.

Bitcoin adoption among public companies is increasing, and Samara Asset Group is at the forefront of it. In October, we announced a planned bond issuance with the intention of using some of the proceeds to purchase more Bitcoin, adding to the 421 BTC we currently hold on our balance sheet.

Bitcoin on Balance Sheets

MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor announced a $42 billion capital plan with a $21 billion equity offering last month. He didn't wait long to acquire more Bitcoin. In November, MicroStrategy bought 55,500, 51,780, and 27,200 BTC, totaling 386,700 BTC on the company's balance sheet.

Mara Digital Holdings announced a 0% convertible note offering, with which they acquired 5,771 BTC. The public miner currently holds 33,857 BTC on its balance sheet.

Metaplanet, a publicly traded Japanese company, announced the issuance of moving strike stock acquisition rights to raise up to ¥9.5 billion ($62 million) to buy Bitcoin. The company currently holds 1,142.30 BTC on its balance sheet.

Boyaa Interactive International, a publicly traded Chinese company, announced the conversion of its Ether (ETH) holdings to Bitcoin worth $49.5 million. With that, the company is now the largest public holder of BTC in Asia.

Semler Scientific, a publicly traded American company, disclosed the additional purchase of 40 BTC, totaling its holdings to 1,058 BTC on its balance sheet.

Rumble, a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ, announced a dedicated Bitcoin treasury strategy, where they will acquire up to $20 million.

‍*Closing price data is from November 30, 2024 at 16:05 CET

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