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Bitcoin Surpasses $64,000 as Trump's Crypto Support Eclipses MicroStrategy Sale
Bitcoin (BTC) climbed past $64,000 on Monday, reversing earlier losses after favorable comments on cryptocurrency from President Donald Trump helped outweigh selling pressure from major corporate holder MicroStrategy.
As of 17:41 ET, the leading cryptocurrency was trading at $64,183.5, up 1.7% for the session, according to Investing.com data. The move builds on a roughly 5% gain from the previous week, which was spurred by a softer-than-expected U.S. jobs report that tempered expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Trump's Comments Boost Sentiment
Market sentiment turned positive after President Trump expressed a supportive view of digital assets. During an event at the Oval Office to launch a new government investment initiative, Trump told reporters, "I’ve become a big crypto guy."
The president stated he is a "fan" and "very much for" cryptocurrencies, noting that his stance had evolved due to concerns about international competition, particularly from China. The comments provided a bullish catalyst for a market that had been under pressure earlier in the day.
MicroStrategy Discloses Bitcoin Sales
Earlier on Monday, sentiment was weighed down by a regulatory filing from MicroStrategy, the software firm founded by Michael Saylor and a prominent corporate holder of Bitcoin. The company disclosed it had recently sold a total of 3,588 bitcoin for proceeds of $216 million.
AdThe sales occurred in two tranches last week:
- 1,363 BTC were sold between June 29 and June 30 for $80.8 million, at an average price of $59,256.
- 2,225 BTC were sold between July 1 and July 5 for $135.2 million, at an average price of $60,773.
MicroStrategy stated the proceeds were used to fund preferred stock distributions and replenish its cash reserves. The filing also revealed the company recorded a loss of $8.32 billion on its digital asset holdings for the quarter ending June 30.
Market Context and Investor Outlook
The crypto market continues to be sensitive to macroeconomic signals. Investors are looking ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes on Wednesday for further clues on monetary policy. A higher interest rate environment typically dampens investor appetite for speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, data on spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) showed a mixed picture. While the funds have experienced eight consecutive weeks of outflows, last week marked the first net inflow since mid-June, suggesting that institutional selling pressure may be starting to ease.