Five Bitcoin miner wallets suddenly reawakened this week, after 15 years of dormancy.
Microstrategy has raised another tranche of more than $1 billion to buy more Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is the best-performing asset class in 2024 according to VanEck.
The entire week has seen several notable developments with Bitcoin.
From old miner wallets coming back to life to a new $1 billion fundraise from MicroStrategy and new insights about the cryptocurrency's performance.
Through it all, Bitcoin’s market presence remains strong, with the first major break above the $60,000 mark.
Here are the major stories surrounding the flagship cryptocurrency as we head into the new week.
On 20 September, the crypto market was thrown into a wave of speculation this week, when five Bitcoin miner wallets suddenly woke up.
The special thing about these wallets is that they have been dormant since 2009—15 years ago.
These wallets which received 50 BTC in block rewards just a week after Bitcoin's launch (as far back as 29 January 2009) suddenly sprang to life and started to move their contents.
Many, at the time, began wondering: could these wallets be connected to Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin?
Here’s some more context as to this timeline, Bitcoin launched on 3 January 2009 when Nakamoto mined the genesis block.
This means that the wallets were created only 26 days after launch when Bitcoin was basically worthless.
Fast forward to today, and these “worthless” coins are worth a combined $15.9 million, with Bitcoin currently trading at about $63,000 per token.
This week, MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin has made headlines once again.
According to the latest Form 8-K filing to the SEC on 19 September, the company completed a $1.01 billion offering of convertible senior notes.
The intention behind raising this amount of money is anyone's guess: buying more Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy’s holdings
Interestingly, MicroStrategy’s aggressive strategy of buying Bitcoin has been a major part of its business model under its chairperson, Michael Saylor.
The notes which will be due in 2028, come with an interest rate of 0.625% and are payable semi-annually.
Investors can reportedly convert their notes into common stock, with a conversion rate of around $183.19 per share.
In essence, this represents a 40% premium over the company’s stock price as of 17 September.
Interestingly, only less than a week ago between 13 and 19 September, the company raked in a massive amount of Bitcoin.
It bought roughly 7,420 BTC for $458.2 million, at an average price of $61,750 per coin.
So far, its total Bitcoin holdings sit at around 252,220 BTC as of mid-September with a collective value of $15.95 billion according to Saylor Tracker.
Bitcoin hasn’t been very bullish over the last few months. However, according to VanEck, it has still outperformed almost every other asset class.
In a recent report, the asset manager noted that the cryptocurrency has seen its value fly by an impressive 124% since September 2023.
Bitcoin’s metrics from VanEck
This has allowed it to secure its place as one of the top choices for investors looking for massive returns.
Despite the crab walk that has plagued the market since the cryptocurrency hit its all time high in March and promptly declined, Bitcoin’s market cap now sits at an impressive $1.25 trillion, with an average dominance of 56%.
This shows that with the help of the ETFs launched at the start of the year, the cryptocurrency is now enjoying massive adoption by both traditional and web3 investors.
VanEck’s report also speculates that Bitcoin’s long-term bull market is far from over.
It notes that the next wave of the run will be driven by factors like the aforementioned adoption and the growing demand for what Bitcoin offers:
A decentralized, censorship-resistant financial network.
$57 billion in net assets
So far, according to Soso Value, the Bitcoin ETFs have amassed more than $57 billion in net assets.
They also have a cumulative net flow of $17.69 billion with green inflows almost throughout the week, except on 18 September.
This makes them the best-performing ETFs in financial history, over others like gold or stock exchange-traded funds.
The Bitcoin miner holding activity
However, on the flipside, Bitcoin miners have had a tough year, following the last halving.
The last event cur Bitcoin’s mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block—coupled with the stagnant prices, miner revenues have tanked significantly.
VanEck’s report also highlighted that the Bitcoin Hashprice is down 97% year-over-year.
All of these factors combined, along with the increasing competition in the mining space have made 2024 a great year for Bitcoin, but a harsh one for miners.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.