Bitcoin price retargets $119K as treasuries buy 28K BTC in two days

Key points:

• Bitcoin ditches its latest dip as strategic reserve hopes replace nerves over Federal Reserve policy.

• BTC price aims for $119,000, gaining nearly 3% versus FOMC meeting lows.

• Corporate Bitcoin treasuries add almost 30,000 BTC of exposure in just 48 hours despite market volatility.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a snap rebound Thursday as markets swapped Federal Reserve angst for strategic reserve excitement.

Bitcoin traders eye strategic reserve as rate cut bets dive

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD bouncing nearly 3% from Wednesday’s local lows.

These had accompanied a more hawkish than expected Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. 

Chair Jerome Powell stayed tight-lipped on future rate cuts after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) held rates at current levels. This included any hint of policy relaxation at the next meeting in September.

“Although swings in net exports continue to affect the data, recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year,” Powell summarized in an accompanying press statement.

“The unemployment rate remains low, and labor market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated.”

Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed market expectations adjusting to the tone, now favoring rates being held in two months’ time.

Powell added that employment data was more important going forward amid misgivings over continued labor market strength. Initial jobless claims were due Thursday, alongside the Fed’s “preferred” inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index.

The FOMC result further saw Powell wholly ignore pressure from US President Donald Trump to lower rates or resign, telling reporters that he had “no updates” on the latter option.

No sooner had the event ended, however, than Robert “Bo” Hines, the executive director of the US President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, came to the rescue.

The White House, he said, was still planning a strategic Bitcoin reserve and would begin “in short order.”

“We understand the importance of the strategic Bitcoin reserve, we’re enormous fans of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin community, we want to deliver for them as well, and I’m certain that we will,” he said in an interview.

Analyst on BTC treasury buys: “Those who know, know”

Bitcoin price action thus whipsawed, with cross-crypto liquidations nearing $500 million for the 24 hours to the time of writing, per data from CoinGlass.

Related: ETH chart divergence flashes warning while onchain metric predicts rally to $4.5K

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, corporate Bitcoin treasuries were wasting no time in adding exposure.

“While you were worrying about the Fed, Bitcoin Treasury Companies just had one of their biggest buying days ever yesterday,” Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, reported in a post on X.

Capriole data puts the total treasury buys for July 29-30 at nearly 30,000 BTC.

“Institutional net buying just breached 97% of all transactions,” Edwards added in a separate post Thursday. 

“The last time net buying by the pros was this high was August 2020. Those who know, know.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.