Dispatch #159: Nothing Micro in Michael’s Strategy

Sep 29, 2023 3 min read

Dispatch

In this patch of your weekly Dispatch:

Google explores blockchains ⛓️
Europeans invest more 🇪🇺
NFTs turn to toys 🐧

The Big Idea

The Open-Sails Bitcoin Strategy

We’ve all got our ways to use Bitcoin – some trade it, while others prefer a more conservative approach by simply accumulating BTC as a store of value. The latter could also be illustrated by what is known as DCA or dollar-cost averaging – a strategy of accumulating BTC (or another crypto) with predefined purchase amounts and at regular periods e.g. every 5th of the month you purchase $100 worth of Bitcoin. Mind you, this is now possible with Nexo’s recent Recurring Buys feature.

This is also the preferred strategy of one of Bitcoin’s biggest supporters and co-founder of data processing giant MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor. You see, the company has gone ahead and added 5,445 more Bitcoins to its corporate treasury last week. The average price for these newly acquired coins is approximately $27,053 per BTC for a total investment of $147.3M.

If you wonder how far Saylor has gone with his strategy since 2020 when the company began acquiring Bitcoin, here are the numbers. Its corporate treasury now holds 158,245 Bitcoins and represents a total investment of $4.7B.

And how did BTC react? Looking at the past week reveals a choppy chart with no meaningful price gains or losses. Is this the maturity we’ve come to expect from Bitcoin coming into effect? Quite possibly, as a mere tweet from Saylor a few years ago was all that was needed for a BTC price spike. And truthfully, would we have it any other way - trading price stability for brief, news-fueled rallies? By now you should know we at Nexo are in the sustainability camp.

The Latest In…

Google and the Blockchains

Google turned 25 years old this week and we’re sure many of us have been thankful for its existence on more than one occasion. And just as a tip of the hat (or a complete coincidence) to the blockchain sector, the tech giant announced exciting news for the wider crypto community.

Google Cloud is expanding its horizons with 11 new blockchains integrated into BigQuery, their data analytics service launched in 2010. This means users can now easily query data from popular blockchains like Avalanche, Ethereum Goerli, and Tron, among others, exploring asset flows, token popularity, and smart contract interactions. Moreover Bitcoin NFTs are also accessible through BigQuery. Big indeed.

The Latest In…

European Adoption

The phrase “regulatory clarity” has widely been used to describe what’s best for cryptocurrencies and now there is evidence to support this claim as European investor interest overtakes such in the USA. A CoinShares report painted the following picture last week:

Europe has seen a weekly influx of $16M into crypto products, while the U.S. has witnessed outflows of $14M.
The European Union's MiCA regulations, set to take effect in December 2024, provide clarity and rules for crypto assets, contributing to positive sentiment.
Europe has launched its first Bitcoin ETF, while the U.S. has a series of applications pending regulatory approval.

The Latest In…

Pudgy Penguins Just Got Real

Many will be looking towards a new power cycle for NFTs, but has it actually already started? You be the judge, but the biggest retail company in the world joined in on the action this week.

Walmart is to sell the Pudgy Penguins NFT toy collection with each toy coming in with a birth certificate for a range of digital character traits.
The collection includes 26 different Pudgy toys, priced between $2.99 and $11.97, providing access to Pudgy World.
NFT IP traits will be incorporated into the toy designs, benefiting NFT holders, with golden ticket features for exclusive traits in Pudgy World.

The Week’s Most Interesting Data Story

Bulls or Bears for $10B?

As the last business day of the month, this Friday, September 29, will see just over $10B in option contracts expire. While not the most in money terms, this amount of open interest has the potential to push prices one way or another – don’t say we didn’t warn you, traders.