Investing.com-- Bitcoin rose on Tuesday, remaining in sight of recent record highs after major corporate holder MicroStrategy declared even more purchases of the coin.
The prospect of friendlier U.S. regulations under second Donald Trump presidency continued to underpin crypto prices, after Trump’s election win earlier in November.
Bitcoin rose 2.2% to $91,579.0 by 09:30 ET (14:30 GMT). The world’s biggest cryptocurrency hit a record high of $93,226.6 last week.
MicroStrategy buys record $4.6 bln Bitcoin
MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) disclosed on Monday that it had bought about 51,780 Bitcoin in the past week for roughly $4.6 billion in cash, at an average price of $88,627 per coin.
The buy was by far the company’s biggest purchase of the cryptocurrency, furthering its spot as the world’s biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin. The company now holds a total 331,200 Bitcoins, and has flagged plans to purchase even more coins in the coming years.
Shares of the firm, which are closely tied to Bitcoin prices, surged nearly 13% to a record high after the disclosure on Monday. MicroStrategy’s shares have also been on a tear since Trump’s election victory earlier in November.
The firm, which is led by Bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor, has consistently taken on new debt over the past three years to increase its Bitcoin stockpile. Saylor has also reiterated plans to roll out more debt offerings in the coming years to buy Bitcoin.
Trump Media reportedly eyeing acquisition of crypto trading platform Bakkt
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ:DJT), the parent company of social media platform Truth Social primarily owned by president-elect Donald Trump, is reportedly in "advanced talks" to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt Holdings Inc (NYSE:BKKT), according to a report by the Financial Times.
The news sparked a surge in both companies' stock prices.
Trump Media saw its shares jump by double digits shortly after the Financial Times story was published. The company, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker DJT, ended the session with a gain of over 16%.
Bakkt, which was established by Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, experienced a dramatic surge of more than 162% Monday, with trading halted multiple times due to heightened volatility.
Trump Media lost some of the initial gains at the Tuesday market open, falling over 9%, while Bakkt extended its gains by more than 16%.
Kelly Loeffler, a former CEO of Bakkt, serves as co-chair of Trump’s inauguration committee.
Crypto price today: post-Trump rally cools with focus on policies
But even as Bitcoin remained largely upbeat, broader crypto prices now appeared to be cooling as optimism over Trump petered out in anticipation of just what his administration will entail for crypto.
Most major altcoins remained close to recent peaks, although their pace of gains now appeared to be slowing after a nearly two-week rally.
Trump’s victory sparked sharp gains in crypto prices, given that he has maintained a largely pro-crypto stance. But markets were now waiting to see actual policy changes from Trump, who is set to take office in about two months.
Among major altcoins, Ether fell slightly to $3,091.06, remaining in sight of a recent three-month high.
SOL, XRP and ADA retreated after rising sharply in recent sessions, while MATIC added over 2%.
Meme token Dogecoin was an outperformer among its peers, rising more than 7% and remaining close to a three-year high. The token had nearly doubled in value after Trump’s victory, and also benefited from increased social media buzz after Trump referenced the token with the Department of Government Efficiency, which will be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.