[Bitcoin Now] Diverging Wall Street Outlooks: "It's the Bottom" vs "It's a Bubble"

Fidelity "Bitcoin Has Reached Its Bottom"
8 out of 10 Wall Street Fund Managers Say It's a Bubble
MicroStrategy Files for $1 Billion Capital Increase to Buy Bitcoin

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin is hovering in the 45 million to 46 million KRW range. Wall Street is divided between views that Bitcoin prices have hit the bottom and interpretations that it is still a bubble.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 1:25 PM on the 16th, Bitcoin recorded 45.9 million KRW, down 1.05% from the previous day. Since rebounding to the 46 million KRW range on the 14th, it has shown little fluctuation.

Major financial firms on Wall Street have differing forecasts for Bitcoin. On the 15th (local time), according to the cryptocurrency specialized foreign media Cointelegraph, Jurien Timmer, head of overseas macro at the US giant asset management firm Fidelity, said on Twitter, "The cryptocurrency market has escaped extreme fear," and "Bitcoin appears to have reached its bottom."

On the other hand, the US investment bank Bank of America (BoA) released a survey indicating that Bitcoin prices are still in a bubble. According to the US economic media CNBC on the 15th, BoA recently conducted a survey on Bitcoin with 207 fund managers operating hedge funds worth $645 billion (approximately 721.11 trillion KRW). The survey results showed that 81% of respondents still believe Bitcoin prices are a bubble. In the same survey conducted in May, 75% responded that it was a bubble.

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy, which holds the largest amount of Bitcoin among private companies, decided to sell its treasury shares to purchase additional Bitcoin. According to the US economic media Bloomberg on the 14th, MicroStrategy reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would raise $1 billion through a capital increase to buy more Bitcoin. Earlier, on the 7th, MicroStrategy decided to sell approximately $400 million in senior secured notes for Bitcoin investment purposes and issued senior secured notes worth $487.7 million on the same day.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, is a prominent Bitcoin advocate. In March, he argued that Bitcoin serves as a reasonable store of value in an inflationary environment.