Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is set to undergo its fourth halving this month, and the community is as excited as ever in anticipation of this event. Amid all this excitement, another participant is gaining attention: institutional investors.
While a halving does not necessarily lead to an immediate price spike, the excitement and attention surrounding the BTC event is laying the foundation for future favorable price movements. Investors who get in early are poised to make hefty profits when crypto recovers.
Back in February, a major investment bank benchmark observed that Bitcoin's previous bull run was associated with a halving event. For example, the 2020 halving preceded the cryptocurrency's “dramatic rise in 2021 from $8,572 to an all-time high of $67,566.”
That being said, these are the names of institutions that were betting on Bitcoin before the April halving.
micro strategy (MSTR)
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micro strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) first purchased Bitcoin in August 2020 as an inflation hedge. Since then, the company hasn't looked back.
After countless purchases over the years, the business intelligence software company now has 214,246 BTC stashed away, making it the largest BTC holder among companies. Some observers believe that MicroStrategy's hoarding of Bitcoin is financially imprudent given its volatility, while others praise the acquisition strategy.
In the same benchmark report mentioned above, analyst Mark Palmer recommended buying MicroStrategy stock as he believes the company is well-positioned to benefit from increasing institutional demand for Bitcoin. . Palmer set a $990 price target on MSTR stock in February. The stock is currently trading at less than $1,600 per share.
Mr. Palmer's price prediction for MSTR stock was based on the premise that Bitcoin is very likely to reach $125,000 by the end of 2025. The analyst claimed that MicroStrategy is offering investors a “timely strategy” for the upcoming Bitcoin halving.
Black Rock (BLK)
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black rock (New York Stock Exchange:BLK) My relationship with Bitcoin has taken a complete 180 degree turn from my previous stance on the digital asset. CEO Larry Fink is on record as saying that BTC is an “indicator of money laundering.”
The company's change in direction in the cryptocurrency field is in response to growing demand. In a 2022 announcement, BlackRock said it has established a Spot Bitcoin Private Trust for US institutional investors.
At the time, the world's largest asset manager (with approximately $10 trillion in assets under management) said that despite the prevailing crypto winter at the time, it was “still seeing significant interest from some institutional clients.” Ta. Just a week ago, BlackRock partnered with the following companies: coinbase (NASDAQ:coin) Exposes investors directly to Bitcoin via Coinbase Prime.
Demand for BTC exposure from customers has remained consistent to date. Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock's head of digital assets, recently said pioneering cryptocurrencies have become “by far the biggest focus” for clients interested in cryptocurrencies.
Last year, BlackRock was at the forefront of institutions seeking a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) Approval.Company's iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:ibit) is currently the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved these funds in January and have accumulated nearly $14 billion in inflows to date.
founders fund
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Back in February, Reuters Peter Thiel's Venture Capital (V.C.) hard founders fund Allocate $200 million to Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH-USD) 2023 — Half off each coin “from late summer to early fall of last year.”
During this period, Bitcoin was trading below $30,000. Since then, the coin has more than doubled, reaching an all-time high of around $74,000 in March.
Bitcoin ETFs remain popular and with the halving approaching, BTC is poised for an even stronger comeback.
Reuters Founders Fund notes that it was an early institutional investor in BTC. The VC firm started investing in Bitcoin in 2014 and made $1.8 billion in profits before selling ahead of the crypto market's dramatic collapse in 2022, according to the publication.
On the date of publication, Hope Muti did not have (directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author; investorplace.com Publishing guidelines.
