Bitcoin Run to $100K Fizzles Despite $5 Billion MicroStrategy Buy

Happy Thanksgiving week, Coinage Fam! As we head into the holiday season, the crypto markets are giving us plenty to talk about. Bitcoin is retreating to the $95K line despite record-breaking inflows, Solana continues to ride a wave of memecoin activity, and our Crypto Project of the Year bracket is officially back.

Today is the last day to submit your predictions to be in the running to win 0.25 ETH (top 10 brackets all win, so submit yours now!) As always, we recapped these stories and more on our Monday live show (above.) Let’s dive in…

Crypto Inflows Hit Record $3.1B

There are two main drivers on Bitcoin’s price right now: Bitcoin ETF inflows, and tech company MicroStrategy continuing to issue debt to use proceeds to buy bitcoin that it holds on its balance sheet. For the former, CoinShares counted a record $3 billion in inflows for the Bitcoin ETFs:

On Monday, MicroStrategy announced another $5.4 billion Bitcoin purchase, bringing the company’s total holdings to $21.9 billion worth of BTC, bought at an average price of $56,761. Interestingly, news of the buy didn’t push Bitcoin’s price higher as MicroStrategy’s last two announcements had. Neither did another announcement of a much smaller buy of $29 million from Semler Scientific (which eerily copied MicroStrategy’s announcement format on X.)

Interestingly, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchases from a week ago actually began outpacing buys from the bitcoin ETFs. This chart from Fundstrat puts it into perspective:

On the one hand, those combined buys from Bitcoin ETFs (34,860 bitcoin) are far outstripping the new 3,150 bitcoins that were mined last week. On the other hand, it doesn’t take much for existing holders of bitcoin to take profits here.

Our take: It looks like healthy profit-taking as the fundamental rally remains intact. Fundamentally, Bitcoin still looks poised to overtake $100,000 at some point (perhaps now just after the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Solana Hits All-time High, But Ethereum Isn’t Dead

Solana is enjoying its 300% annual run as memecoins continue to onboard users and drive onchain activity to new heights. The question is — is it sustainable?

The Solana-based token platform Pump.Fun has enabled anyone on the internet to spin up a memecoin with two clicks of a button. Ever since Pump.Fun added live-streaming capabilities, people have also been doing extremely troubling things on-cam to pump their tokens. The bigger the shock, the bigger the coin pumps, so goes the thinking. One creator even launched the “FISHKILLER” token and held a gun up to a goldfish.

But all of this has triggered significant blowback as people in crypto have called on Pump.Fun to do a better job moderating the platform. The pseudonymous founder took to X, saying the company was adding “a large team of moderators working around the clock.”

As for Ethereum, the catch up trade looks to still be intact. ETH surged 4% despite Bitcoin’s moves lower. While many continue to count Ethereum out, there is a strong case to be made it could be turning a corner. This weekend the coin hit $3,500 for the first time since July.

Last Chance to Win 0.25 ETH:

Coinage’s Crypto Project of the Year bracket is back — and we’re giving 0.25 ETH to the readers who fill out the most accurate picks. From heavyweights like Solana and Stacks to rising stars like Akash and Sui, we’re looking forward to publishing our interviews with the best founders in crypto. [FILL OUT YOUR BRACKET HERE!]

Voting begins later this week, with Coinage NFT holders deciding who takes the crown. If you have a Coinage Membership NFT — don’t forget to complete our membership onboarding process to unlock patronage dividends this year!

Other Web3 Headlines:

• Trump’s Transition Team Co-Chair and Billionaire Howard Lutnick continues to cozy up with stablecoin giant Tether. The WSJ reported that his Cantor Fitzgerald took a $600 million interest in Tether.

• As X users flock to Blue Sky, a company with a similar name enjoyed a 1700% rally because people thought they were the same thing.

• Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary is pro-crypto. Scott Bessent said crypto is about freedom this summer, and odds of a US Bitcoin strategic reserve continue to rise.