Goldman Sachs&#8217; increased investment in Bitcoin ETFs signals growing institutional confidence, potentially driving further market adoption. The post Goldman Sachs doubles down on BlackRock&#8217;s Bitcoin ETF, boosting holdings to $1.4B in Q1 2025 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Goldman Sachs doubles down on BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, boosting holdings to $1.4B in Q1 2025

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin short-term holder whales have recently been 
entering at three times higher prices than the cost basis of the long-term 
holder whales. New Bitcoin Whales Have Cost Basis Around $91,900 In a new post 
on X, CryptoQuant author Axel Adler Jr has discussed how the Realized Price 
compares between the two major sides of the whale cohort on the Bitcoin 
network. The &#8220;Realized Price&#8221; here refers to an indicator that keeps track of 
the cost basis or acquisition level of the average investor in the BTC market. 
When the value of this metric is above the spot price of the asset, it means 
the holders as a whole are carrying a net unrealized loss. Similarly, the 
indicator being under the coin&#8217;s value suggests the dominance of profit among 
the investors. Related Reading: Bitcoin Derivatives In The Driver’s Seat For 
$100,000 Rally, Data Shows In the context of the current topic, the Realized 
Price of the entire sector isn&#8217;t of interest, but rather that of two specific 
investor cohorts: the short-term holder and long-term holder whales. The 
short-term holders (STHs) and long-term holders (LTHs) make up the two main 
divisions of the BTC network based on the basis of holding time. All investors 
who purchased their coins within the past 155 days are put into the STHs, 
while those who surpass this threshold mature into the LTHs. The STHs and LTHs 
of focus here aren&#8217;t just any ordinary investors, but rather the &#8220;whales,&#8221; 
entities who are carrying more than 1,000 BTC ($103.3 million) in their 
balance. Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin Realized 
Price for the STH and LTH whales over the past few years: As is visible in the 
above graph, the Bitcoin Realized Price of the whales who got in during the 
past 155 days stands at $91,900 at the moment. With BTC&#8217;s recent recovery 
rally, the spot price has gained a notable distance above this line, so the 
cohort should be comfortably in the green now. That said, their situation is 
nowhere near as good as that of the veteran whales, who have their cost basis 
at just $32,200. This indicates that there is a spread of a whopping 185% 
between the bottom line of the two groups. According to the analyst, this 
indicates a growing confidence and FOMO among the investors, which is driving 
them to buy at even the recent high prices. This trend is in sharp contrast to 
the 2022 bear market, where the difference between the cost basis of the two 
groups fell to just 65%. Related Reading: Bitcoin Resistance Limited Beyond 
$100,000, On-Chain Data Suggests It now remains to be seen whether demand from 
the new whales will continue to be strong in the near future, potentially 
driving up the spread between the cohorts further. Back in the 2021 bull 
market, the gap peaked at 437%. BTC Price With the latest continuation of the 
recovery rally, Bitcoin has managed to reclaim the $103,000 level. Featured 
image from Dall-E, CryptoQuant.com, chart from TradingView.com

New Bitcoin Whales Sitting On 185% Higher Cost Basis Than HODLer Whales, Data Shows

Ripple&#8217;s CEO pushes for urgent U.S. action as stablecoins skyrocket globally, 
warning that without clear rules, America risks falling behind in the digital 
currency race. Ripple CEO Urges Congress to Act Fast as Stablecoins Erupt 
Worldwide Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse raised alarms on social 
media platform X Thursday, following the U.S. Senate’s failure to […]

Ripple CEO Sees Stablecoins Exploding Globally, Calls for Rapid US Regulation

Strategy founder Michael Saylor says Bitcoin hasn&#8217;t reached $150,000 yet 
because holders without a long-term outlook have been selling off while a new 
cohort of investors are beginning to enter the market.
&#8220;I think we&#8217;re going through a rotation right now,&#8221; Saylor said on the Coin 
Stories podcast with Natalie Brunell on May 9.
## The lack of &#8220;10-year investor mindset&#8221; led to Bitcoin sell-off
Saylor said &#8220;lots of non-economically interested parties are rotating out of 
the asset.&#8221; However, at the same time, &#8220;a new cohort of investors are 
entering.&#8221;
&#8220;A lot of Bitcoin, for whatever reason, was left in the hands of the 
governments and the hands of lawyers, and in the hands of bankruptcy 
trustees,&#8221; he added.
_Strategy &#8216;s Michael Saylor spoke to Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories 
podcast. Source: __Natalie Brunell_
Saylor said that many of these trustees do not have a &#8220;10-year investors 
mindset,&#8221; and as Bitcoin&#8217;s (BTC) price began to rally, they took advantage and 
&#8220;thought this is a good exit point to get liquidity.&#8221;
&gt; &#8220;So I think people less committed to the long term have taken the 
&gt; opportunity to exit the market and a whole new class of investors are 
&gt; entering by way of ETFs and by way of Bitcoin treasury companies.&#8221;
After Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $109,000 on Jan. 20 just hours 
before US President Donald Trump&#8217;s presidential inauguration, it experienced a 
downtrend, falling as low as $76,273 on April 9, before starting to show signs 
of recovery.
On May 8, Bitcoin reclaimed $100,000 for the first time since Feb. 1 after US 
President Donald Trump proposed tariffs. The recent price surge has pushed 
Strategy&#8217;s Bitcoin holdings to 50.27% above their average Bitcoin purchase 
price of $68,569. At the time of publication, the firm holds 555,450 Bitcoin, 
valued at approximately $57.23 billion, according to Saylor Tracker data.
## Saylor is surprised at US government sentiment shift
Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $564.7 in inflows over the past five trading days, 
according to Farside data.
Meanwhile, Saylor said he&#8217;s not surprised the US government hasn&#8217;t yet bought 
Bitcoin for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve which Trump signed an executive 
order for on March 7. The reserve is holding Bitcoin that was forfeited as 
part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.
However, Saylor didn&#8217;t anticipate their stance to change so quickly following 
Trump&#8217;s inauguration.
_**Related:**__**Strive to become Bitcoin treasury company**_
&#8220;I was surprised that the US embraced Bitcoin as radically as it has over the 
last six months, I think I didn&#8217;t expect all the Cabinet members to be so 
enthusiastic,&#8221; he said.
_**Magazine:**__**ChatGPT a &#8216;schizophrenia-seeking missile,&#8217; AI scientists 
prep for 50% deaths: AI Eye**_

Bitcoin yet to hit $150K because outsiders are ghosting — Michael Saylor

Bitcoin was back in the news this week after surging past $104,000 before 
retracting a bit. The rally, which started around May 7, propelled the world&#8217;s 
largest cryptocurrency from $93,000 to as much as $104,000 by May 9. Related 
Reading: Binance Buzz: Pi Coin Wallet Activity Triggers Listing Rumors After 
retreating 4% in the following 24 hours, Bitcoin still maintained a weekly 
gain of around 6%. That short-term action is now driving larger predictions, 
including one that forecasts Bitcoin will increase another 10 times in value. 
Another 10x Jump &#8216;Inevitable,&#8217; Expert Says Muneeb Ali, the brains behind the 
Bitcoin Layer 2 solution Starks, thinks the next giant leap is imminent. In 
his opinion, Bitcoin has already taken three distinct steps in its price 
trajectory: from $100 to $1,000, then to $10,000, and then to over $100,000. 
i’ve seen bitcoin go: &#8211; from $100 to $1,000. &#8211; from $1,000 to $10,000. &#8211; from 
$10,000 to $100,000. one more 10x to $1,000,000 is inevitable. — muneeb.btc 
(@muneeb) May 8, 2025 Ali pointed out how each move took more time but 
followed a familiar pattern. In 2013, Bitcoin climbed from $100 to $1,000 in 
four months. Four years later, in 2017, it reached $10,000. By December 2024, 
it had crossed the $100,000 mark. Based on that path, Ali said another 10x 
jump to $1 million isn’t just likely — it’s &#8220;inevitable&#8221;. However, he didn’t 
explain what would actually drive that kind of rise. New Projection Sees $116K 
Next Month The latest Bitcoin price forecast by CoinCodex has the price 
increasing by 13% and hitting $116,600 on June 8, 2025. Technical analysis 
indicates a positive trend, with 20 of the past 30 days (67%) closing in the 
positive. During the same timeframe, Bitcoin recorded 6.50% price volatility. 
Source: Alternative.me The Fear &amp; Greed Index is currently at 73, which is 
Greed. Though this prediction is not quite hinting at reaching $1 million yet, 
it validates the notion that there is still space for Bitcoin to rise in the 
near future. Related Reading: Tether’s $1 Billion Mint Powers Tron — Is A 
Breakout Brewing? A US Government Buy-In Could Speed Things Up Zack Shapiro, a 
Bitcoin Policy Institute lawyer, also thinks that Bitcoin has a lot of 
potential — and quick. He studied a bill called the Bitcoin Act, which was 
reintroduced last March. The bill proposes the US government to purchase 1 
million BTC within five years. That represents 5% of the total supply. If 
passed, the bill would fund the acquisition using profits from gold 
revaluation. Shapiro indicated that a plan like that would fuel demand so high 
it drives Bitcoin to $1 million earlier than anticipated. That&#8217;s provided that 
the bill gains momentum and secures the financing it requires. Featured image 
from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView

Tech Expert Predicts $1 Million Bitcoin — ‘Only One More 10x Left’

**Key takeaways:**
 * ETH price rallied by 22% on May 8, but demand for spot ETH ETFs and derivatives remains muted. 
 * President Trump&#8217;s reversal on certain altcoins aligns with ETH&#8217;s renewed outlook. 
Ether (ETH) posted an impressive 29% gain between May 8 and May 9, likely 
marking the end of a 10-week bear market that bottomed out at $1,385 on April 
9. This sharp move triggered the liquidation of over $400 million in short 
(sell) ETH futures positions, suggesting that whales and market makers were 
caught off guard.
Despite the surge, traders have maintained a neutral stance in ETH 
derivatives. Whether this apparent lack of conviction reflects a genuine trend 
reversal or merely precedes another test of the $2,000 level remains to be 
seen.
_Ether 3-month futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch_
The ETH futures premium has yet to exceed the 5% threshold typically 
associated with a neutral market, indicating that demand for leveraged bullish 
positions remains notably limited. ETH&#8217;s continued underperformance&#8211;trailing 
the altcoin market capitalization by 17% in 2025&#8211;helps explain the prevailing 
lack of investor confidence.
Some analysts interpret this as an opening for further short covering, while 
others contend that Ethereum&#8217;s core fundamentals have yet to improve 
meaningfully.
## Ethereum maintains leadership in decentralization and TVL
Irrespective of Ether&#8217;s price action, recent network upgrades have notably 
enhanced layer-2 scalability. More importantly, they have helped solidify 
Ethereum&#8217;s position as the leading platform in terms of decentralization and 
security. This is reflected in Ethereum&#8217;s total value locked (TVL), which 
stands at $64 billion. For comparison, the three largest direct competitors&#8211; 
Solana, BNB Chain, and Tron&#8211;collectively hold a total value locked (TVL) of 
$22.3 billion.
The limited demand for spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has emerged as 
a key warning sign. Even Ether&#8217;s strongest single-day price performance in 
four years failed to prevent a third consecutive day of net outflows, 
according to data from Farside Investors. On May 8 alone, US-listed Ether spot 
ETFs experienced net outflows totaling $16 million.
_Ether US-listed spot ETFs&#8217; daily net flows, USD million. Source: Farside 
Investors_
The muted enthusiasm following Ether&#8217;s recent bullish momentum can be partly 
attributed to the sharp 85% drop in Ethereum network fees from January to 
April. Reduced network activity lowers overall demand for ETH and negatively 
affects net staking yields, as the protocol&#8217;s burn mechanism relies on 
competition for data processing.
ETH options markets also offer insight into whether whales and market makers 
anticipate further downside risks.
_Deribit 30-day ETH options delta skew (put-call). Source: Laevitas.ch_
Currently, put (sell) options are trading at similar levels to equivalent call 
(buy) options, indicating a neutral sentiment. This outcome is somewhat 
discouraging for Ether bulls. Nevertheless, Ether could regain market 
attention after US President Donald Trump reversed his position following 
earlier public endorsements of competing altcoins.
_**Related:**__**Ether clocks &#8216;insane&#8217; 20% candle post Pectra &#8212; A turning 
point?**_
According to a Politico report published on May 8, President Trump felt he had 
been &#8220;used&#8221; and had severed ties with the lobbyist who reportedly proposed the 
idea of a strategic crypto reserve. While Trump&#8217;s social media post on March 2 
specifically mentioned Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and XRP, the subsequent 
March 6 &#8220;Digital Asset Stockpile&#8221; Executive Order struck a much more reserved 
tone.
Despite the evident apathy in both the Ether derivatives market and spot ETF 
flows, a rally toward the $2,700 level remains plausible&#8211;especially if 
investor sentiment shifts in response to the failed lobbying efforts 
undertaken by some of Ethereum&#8217;s competitors.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and 
should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and 
opinions expressed here are the author&#8217;s alone and do not necessarily reflect 
or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.