President Donald Trump said he’ll review the case of Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, as questions mount over the federal conviction of the Bitcoin privacy software developer.
When asked about Rodriguez’s upcoming prison sentence, Trump said, “I’ve heard about it. I’ll look at it.”
“I don’t know anything about it,” President Trump said. “But we’ll take a look.”
Rodriguez publicly acknowledged Trump’s sentiment, tweeting “Your continued noise is working. Thank you to everyone pushing @realDonaldTrump to pardon Bill and me. Let’s get this over the line. #pardonsamourai”
Rodriguez, along with co-founder William “Bill” Hill, was convicted of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, a charge stemming from Samourai Wallet, a Bitcoin privacy tool that allowed users to mix coins and maintain financial anonymity without giving up custody of their funds.
JUST IN: President Trump says he will consider a pardon for the CEO of privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Samourai.
The case, which began under the Biden administration and continued through the Trump Justice Department, culminated in Rodriguez receiving a five-year sentence and Hill four years, though Hill’s age and recent autism diagnosis led to a reduced sentence.
Critics of the prosecution argue the case represents a dangerous precedent for the cryptocurrency industry. The U.S. Department of Justice claimed that Samourai Wallet facilitated over $2 billion in unlawful transactions and laundered more than $100 million from criminal sources. However, only the “unlicensed money transmission” charge survived a high-profile trial, raising questions about the strength of the case.
Samourai Wallet’s mixing services, Whirlpool and Ricochet, were designed to obscure the origin of criminal proceeds from activities including drug trafficking, darknet marketplaces, fraud, cybercrime, and murder-for-hire operations.
Court documents reveal the developers actively encouraged criminal use, describing the service as “money laundering for bitcoin” and promoting its tools on darknet forums.
The Department of Justice framed the case as part of a broader crackdown on crypto mixing services. Rodriguez had requested a light sentence, but the court imposed the statutory five-year maximum.
Trump’s comments come amid his campaign promises to defend the right to self-custody and financial privacy. During the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, he pledged to end what he described as the “anti-crypto crusade” of the prior administration.
With Rodriguez set to report to prison on December 18 and Hill already sentenced, the Trump administration faces a high-profile decision that could shape the future of financial privacy, software development, and cryptocurrency regulation in the United States.
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market is heading into 2026 with more questions than clear answers.
A new outlook from Fidelity urges caution for investors chasing short-term gains, while arguing that long-term holders may still have room to enter the market.
The message reflects a broader shift: crypto is no longer just a high-beta trade for speculators. It is being treated as a strategic asset by governments, corporations, and institutional investors.
That shift accelerated this year.
This year, more governments and companies added digital assets to their treasuries, creating a new source of demand that didn’t exist in prior cycles.
In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the United States. The order formally designated BTC and select cryptocurrencies already held by the federal government as reserve assets.
The long-term impact of that decision remains unclear. But the symbolism matters. BTC is now officially recognized by the U.S. government as a store of value. That recognition is feeding debate over whether crypto’s familiar four-year market cycle still applies, the report argued.
Is Bitcoin’s four-year cycle over?
Bitcoin has historically moved in boom-and-bust patterns tied loosely to its halving schedule. Major tops formed in 2013, 2017, and 2021. Each was followed by deep drawdowns. Today, prices are again pulling back around the four-year mark, raising the question of whether the current bull market has already peaked.
JUST IN: Fidelity reports that Bitcoin's 4 year cycle may be over
Investors "believe we could be entering a supercycle…For reference, a supercycle in commodities in the 2000s spanned nearly a decade." pic.twitter.com/SVQs61lz7N
Some investors think the cycle is breaking down. The argument is simple: structural demand is changing. Sovereign adoption and corporate balance sheet buying could dampen volatility and reduce the severity of future bear markets.
Others go further, suggesting bitcoin may be entering a “supercycle” that extends higher for years, with only shallow corrections along the way.
Fidelity Digital Asset’s Chris Kuiper isn’t convinced cycles are dead. Human behavior hasn’t changed, he notes, and fear and greed still drive markets. If the four-year pattern holds, bitcoin would need to have already set its cycle high and be entering a sustained bear market.
So far, it’s too early to say. The recent drawdown could mark the start of a downturn. Or it could be another mid-cycle shakeout.
Governments and corporations are buying Bitcoin
Also, government adoption adds another layer of complexity. A growing number of countries already hold crypto, but few have formally designated it as a reserve asset.
That may change. Kyrgyzstan passed legislation establishing a crypto reserve in 2025. In Brazil, lawmakers advanced a proposal that would allow up to 5% of foreign reserves to be held in bitcoin.
Kuiper points to game theory. If one country adopts bitcoin as a reserve, others may feel pressure to follow. Any incremental demand, he says, could support prices, though the scale matters and selling pressure can offset buying.
Corporations are also playing a larger role. More than 100 publicly traded companies now hold crypto, with roughly 50 firms controlling over one million bitcoin combined, per Fidelity. Strategy remains the most visible buyer, but it’s no longer alone. For some firms, bitcoin offers a way to access capital markets and arbitrage investor demand for exposure.
That demand cuts both ways. Corporate buying can lift prices. Forced selling in a downturn could amplify losses.
So, is it too late to buy?
Fidelity’s Kuiper says it depends on the time horizon. Short-term investors may face poor odds if the cycle is near its end. Long-term holders face a different equation. On a multi-decade view, Kuiper argues bitcoin’s fixed supply remains its core appeal. If that holds, the question isn’t timing the cycle. It’s whether adoption continues. In 2026, that answer is still unfolding.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is rapidly dipping near $86,000.
Bitcoin price is looking lethargic heading into this week. Last week saw prices reject once again from the $94,000 resistance level. The bulls were not able to gain any momentum whatsoever as the price bled down into Sunday to close at $88,170. This week, the bears will look to break the $84,000 support level and take the price into the low $70,000 range. The bulls will desperately try to hold onto this $84,000 level as support, but it may not be able to survive another test.
Key Support and Resistance Levels Now
With the $84,000 support level again under pressure this week, the bears will look to finally drive the price down below it. There’s a small chance bulls may be able to defend $85,000, but it’s unlikely to hold here unless we see big buying volume step in. The $72,000 to $68,000 support zone below should be a solid floor on initial tests, so it would likely take a few weeks to break down through this level if we get there. Below here, bulls will look to hang onto the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement support at $57,000.
Up higher, we have a blanket of resistance now from $94,000 all the way up to $118,000. If bulls can manage to finally conquer $94,000, they will look to $101,000 next, although sellers should step in strongly above $97,000. Above $101,000, it should be a slow go all the way to $107,000. Even more buying pressure would be necessary above $107,000 to push through this thick zone all the way to $118,000. None of these levels seem attainable anytime soon with the current price action, however.
Outlook For This Week
Bitcoin’s weekly red candle close was not what the bulls wanted to see last week. The bears got a much-needed rest over the past few weeks and should see renewed strength this week. Look for the bears to attempt to break the $84,000 support level at some point this week, with bulls potentially trying to put in a bounce to maintain higher lows around the $87,000 to $85,000 area. If price drops below $84,000 this week, I would expect to see acceleration down to at least $75,000 and likely into the low $70,000 area.
Market mood: Extremely Bearish – Bulls had some time to try to push the price above short-term support over the last couple of weeks and failed to do so. The bears are in control and should be well rested for renewed selling strength to the downside.
The next few weeks Sellers received a much-needed break over the past few weeks, while buyers were only able to pause the bearish momentum. Bears should take advantage here to take out the $84,000 support level. In the next few weeks, look for the support zone in the $72,000 to $68,000 area to be hit. However, we should see a strong bounce from this area after an initial test. So if this zone is touched, look for price to at least re-test the $84,000 level from down there, with potential for an even stronger bounce. This zone is a potential area for a reversal out of the bear market, but if the “4-Year Cycle” holds true, then the price would likely test lower later into 2026.
Terminology Guide:
Bulls/Bullish: Buyers or investors expecting the price to go higher.
Bears/Bearish: Sellers or investors expecting the price to go lower.
Support or support level: A level at which the price should hold for the asset, at least initially. The more touches on support, the weaker it gets and the more likely it is to fail to hold the price.
Resistance or resistance level: Opposite of support. The level that is likely to reject the price, at least initially. The more touches at resistance, the weaker it gets and the more likely it is to fail to hold back the price.
Fibonacci Retracements and Extensions: Ratios based on what is known as the golden ratio, a universal ratio pertaining to growth and decay cycles in nature. The golden ratio is based on the constants Phi (1.618) and phi (0.618).
SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins just addressed the ongoing SEC Crypto Task Force Roundtable on Financial Surveillance and Privacy by touching on the dual nature of public blockchain technology and the need to balance government oversight with individual privacy rights.
Atkins underscored that public blockchains are “more transparent than any legacy financial system ever built,” with every transaction recorded on a ledger accessible to anyone.
Atkins also said that chain analytics firms are already adept at linking on-chain activity to off-chain identities, warning that, if misapplied, crypto could become “the most powerful financial surveillance architecture ever invented.”
The chairman cautioned against a regulatory approach that treats every wallet as a broker and every transaction as reportable, which he said could transform the ecosystem into a “financial panopticon.”
JUST IN: SEC Chair Paul Atkins says "public blockchains are more transparent than any legacy financial system ever built." pic.twitter.com/NfvKhsDPJx
Such transparency, Atkins explained, could also disrupt traditional market functions: real-time visibility of orders, hedges, and portfolio adjustments could incentivize front-running, copycat strategies, and other dynamics that make market-making and underwriting less attractive.
Privacy in crypto and blockchain
At the same time, Atkins highlighted the privacy-preserving capabilities of blockchain technology. He pointed to blockchain that allow users to demonstrate compliance without revealing their entire financial history.
Such tools, he said, could enable regulated platforms to screen users while avoiding permanent, detailed tracking of individual transactions.
“Shielding the lawful activity of our citizens from bulk surveillance while still ensuring that our government can perform essential functions is the best way to protect both national security and our basic civil liberties while also giving room for innovation to flourish,” Atkins said.
He concluded by stressing the importance of creating a regulatory framework that protects Americans’ privacy without stifling technological or financial innovation.
Although he could not remain for the entire roundtable, Atkins expressed confidence that the discussions would help shape policies that uphold both security and personal freedom.
In later opening comments, Commissioner Hester Peirce emphasized that tokenized securities and other crypto assets allow transactions to occur without traditional intermediaries like brokers, reducing the flow of information to government surveillance channels.
She noted that while disintermediated transactions limit traditional oversight, public blockchains remain fully transparent, creating both opportunities and challenges for monitoring.
Peirce argued that the U.S. financial system’s longstanding erosion of privacy is overdue for reassessment, with crypto pushing the conversation forward.
As crypto adoption grows, Peirce called for thoughtful reevaluation of how and when financial transactions are surveilled, balancing the need to protect consumers from bad actors with preserving privacy rights.
mNAV, or market net asset value, is a valuation metric that expresses the real-time economic value of a company’s bitcoin reserves. It adjusts the company’s holdings to the current market price of bitcoin, accounts for liquid cash and debt, and factors in share dilution.
mNAV provides a clearer picture of a bitcoin treasury company’s true financial position than conventional accounting standards. It has become the standard tool for evaluating corporate bitcoin strategies because it centers the analysis on bitcoin itself, rather than legacy accounting conventions that can distort value.
Key Takeaways
Real-Time Precision: mNAV reflects the current market value of a company’s bitcoin reserves on a per-share basis, updated in real-time rather than quarterly.
Economic Reality: It provides investors with a transparent measure of reserve value that cuts through GAAP reporting lags.
Market Sentiment: Premiums and discounts to mNAV reveal how the market interprets a company’s execution, governance, and capital efficiency.
Valuation Anchor: mNAV is essential for analyzing public bitcoin treasury companies and access vehicles.
Purpose: Why We Need mNAV
The purpose of mNAV is to provide an accurate, real-time valuation anchor for companies that hold bitcoin.
Historically, under US accounting rules (GAAP), bitcoin was treated strictly as an intangible asset. This required companies to recognize impairments when the price fell but prevented them from recognizing gains until the asset was sold. While recent updates to FASB rules (ASU 2023-08) now allow companies to report bitcoin at fair value, GAAP financial statements remain retrospective—snapshots taken only once per quarter.
Bitcoin markets move 24/7. A quarterly earnings report is often stale the moment it is published.
mNAV fills this gap. It replaces static quarterly reporting with dynamic, market-based valuation. Investors gain a consistent, transparent, and economically meaningful measure of the company’s bitcoin position that adjusts with the market. This provides a reliable basis for evaluating performance, governance, risk, and capital strategy.
Mechanics: How mNAV Works
mNAV is straightforward to calculate, but precision is key. It treats the company effectively as a holding vehicle, netting out debts and cash to find the “naked” value of the bitcoin per share.
1. Holdings in BTC
Companies disclose their bitcoin reserves in BTC terms. This is the foundational input. Because bitcoin’s supply is fixed, the quantity held is the primary driver of long-term value.
2. Market Pricing
The real-time spot price of bitcoin is applied to the company’s total BTC holdings to determine the gross value of the reserves.
3. Net Debt (Cash vs. Liabilities)
To get an accurate “Net Asset” value, you must account for the balance sheet.
Add Cash: Cash and cash equivalents are added to the bitcoin value.
Subtract Debt: Total debt (including convertible notes and senior secured notes) is subtracted.
Note: For operating companies (like software firms), this formula is conservative. It effectively values the operating business at zero, assuming its cash flows exist primarily to service the debt.
4. Fully Diluted Share Count
The result is divided by the fully diluted number of shares. This includes outstanding shares, options, Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and shares underlying convertible notes if they are “in the money.”
Formula for mNAV per share
The output is a reserve-based valuation per share. Investors compare the stock price to this benchmark to understand if they are paying a premium (paying for future execution) or a discount (pricing in risk).
Background and Origins
mNAV emerged as a practical necessity once corporations began holding bitcoin in material size. Early adopters like MicroStrategy (now Strategy) revealed that standard accounting could not capture the reality of bitcoin’s market behavior. Impairment charges made healthy balance sheets look distressed, while massive unrealized gains went unreported.
Analysts began circulating market-value-adjusted figures to understand the true strength of these companies. Even as accounting rules modernize, mNAV remains the dominant metric because it is simple, comparable across companies, and focused on BTC terms rather than accounting classification.
Why Companies Trade Above or Below mNAV
Companies rarely trade exactly at mNAV. The market applies premiums or discounts based on how it interprets execution quality, treasury discipline, and capital structure.
Capital Market Arbitrage & Accretive Issuance: Some companies excel at transforming capital markets into bitcoin acquisition engines. They issue equity or debt at attractive terms to buy more bitcoin.
Notably, if a company trades at a premium to mNAV, it can issue new shares to buy bitcoin, effectively increasing the bitcoin-per-share for existing holders. The market often rewards this “accretive loop” with a sustained premium, as it accelerates the accumulation of reserves.
Bitcoin-Backed Financial Instruments: Companies with deep bitcoin reserves can issue financial products backed by those holdings, such as bitcoin-backed notes or yield-generating instruments. Markets reward the ability to use bitcoin to build new financial infrastructure.
Global Market Access: Large pools of institutional capital still cannot buy or custody bitcoin directly. Treasury companies offer a familiar entry point through equity and fixed income. This utility increases demand for shares, often pushing valuations above mNAV.
Discounts: The Market Referendum: Discounts often signal distress. If a company trades below mNAV, it implies investors are worried about governance, management fees, excessive leverage, or the inability to hold bitcoin long-term.
Premiums to mNAV
A premium to mNAV indicates that investors value the company’s capabilities beyond the raw value of its current holdings.
A premium is a vote of confidence. It suggests investors believe the company will:
Generate Accretion: Issue capital efficiently to grow bitcoin-per-share.
Mitigate Risk: Manage leverage intelligently to avoid forced selling.
Create Utility: Build products or services on top of the bitcoin stack.
Premiums contract when confidence fades. Poor execution or deterioration in capital efficiency can reduce demand for the shares, causing valuations to drift back toward—or below—mNAV.
Example: Strategy ($MSTR)
Strategy is the largest and most studied bitcoin treasury company. Because its strategy involves active capital market management (issuing convertibles and equity to buy BTC), analysts, plebs and investors routinely track mNAV to interpret its valuation.
Strategy often trades at a significant premium to mNAV. This premium reflects the market’s valuation of its ability to borrow cheaply and buy bitcoin that appreciates faster than the cost of that debt. When the company successfully executes this arbitrage, the premium tends to hold. If market conditions weaken or leverage concerns rise, the stock may drift closer to mNAV.
For current data on Strategy’s mNAV, premium, and BTC Yield, view the Strategy’s Company Metrics on BitcoinMagazinePro.com.
mNAV vs. Book Value
Book value reflects historical cost based on accounting rules. It is a lagging indicator, whilst mNAV reflects current economic reality. mNAV replaces historical cost with live market data and adjusts for dilution.
For a bitcoin treasury, Book Value is more suitable for the accountants; and mNAV is preferred by investors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does mNAV work like NAV in an ETF?
No. ETFs have an arbitrage mechanism (Authorized Participants) that forces the price to match NAV. Operating companies do not have this. Their shares float freely based on sentiment, allowing for significant premiums and discounts.
Does mNAV apply to private companies?
It can be calculated if the private company discloses holdings and liabilities, but it is most useful for public companies with transparent, liquid share counts.
Why do discounts appear?
Discounts usually reflect risk. If the market fears the company may be forced to sell bitcoin to pay debts, or if the management structure is poor, the stock may trade at a discount to the raw value of the assets.
Related Concepts
Bitcoin Strategic Reserve – A deliberate long-term allocation of bitcoin used to defend against fiat dilution and preserve capital over time. Treasury companies typically build this into their core strategy.
Bitcoin Treasury Company – Bitcoin treasury companies are redefining capital preservation. By placing bitcoin at the center of their balance sheet strategy, these firms unlock access to capital and absorb bitcoin’s supply.
Final Thoughts
mNAV has become one of the most important valuation tools in corporate bitcoin adoption. It reveals the true economic value of bitcoin reserves and gives investors a consistent benchmark for evaluating companies that anchor their balance sheets in the hardest monetary asset available.
As more firms adopt bitcoin strategies, mNAV will remain the central metric for understanding how capital markets integrate with sound money.
Bitcoin extended its weekend slide on Sunday, dropping below $87,000 as a fresh wave of liquidations swept through the crypto market, wiping out roughly $200 million in leveraged positions over the past 60 minutes, per Coinglass data.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price stood at $86,751, down about 2% over the past 24 hours, according to market data.
Trading volume totaled roughly $38 billion, while BTC was down 4% from its seven-day high near $89,935 and hovering just above its weekly low around $87,152.
BTC’s circulating supply currently sits at 19.96 million BTC, with a fixed maximum of 21 million, giving the network a market capitalization of approximately $1.73 trillion, down 2% on the day, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.
The latest leg lower follows another grim weekend for price action. Bitcoin bled from the low-$92,000 range on Thursday to weekend lows near $87,000, as thin liquidity and persistent sell pressure weighed on risk appetite.
The decisive move below $90,000 occurred during typically illiquid Sunday trading, amplifying downside volatility as traders positioned cautiously ahead of a dense slate of U.S. economic data and central bank events this week.
Strategy, the world’s largest publicly traded BTC holder, added nearly $1 billion in bitcoin last week, acquiring 10,645 BTC at an average price of $92,098 per coin.
This marks the company’s second consecutive mega-purchase, bringing its total holdings to 671,268 BTC, purchased for $50.33 billion at an average cost of $74,972 each.
The acquisition was primarily funded through equity issuance, with $888.2 million raised via common stock sales and the remainder through STRD preferred shares, despite ongoing shareholder concerns about dilution.
Historically, the company’s weekly purchases had been modest due to fundraising constraints, but Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has recently accelerated buying, signaling renewed conviction despite market volatility.
Bitcoin price endured another grim weekend, bleeding from the low-$92,000 range on Thursday to weekend lows near $87,000 as thin liquidity and sell pressure weighed on risk appetite.
The move below $90,000 came during typically illiquid Sunday trading, amplifying downside volatility as traders positioned cautiously ahead of a dense slate of U.S. economic data and central bank events this week.
At the lows, the bitcoin price was down roughly 7% on the month, continuing a choppy consolidation that has defined price action since October’s all-time high, per Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.
Broader crypto markets showed little sign of strength.
Major altcoins including Solana, XRP, Dogecoin and Cardano continued to slide, extending double-digit monthly losses and reinforcing bitcoin’s dominance near 57% of total crypto market capitalization. Volumes remained muted, reflecting a lack of conviction rather than outright capitulation.
Macro overhangs remain front and center. In the U.S., traders are bracing for employment data, inflation prints, PMI readings and Fed commentary that could reshape rate expectations.
Globally, attention is turning to Japan, where the Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise rates later this week — an event that could pressure yen-funded carry trades that have helped support risk assets, including bitcoin, over the past year.
Technically, analysts are watching the mid-$80,000s closely. A sustained break below that zone could invite a deeper correction, while holding it would reinforce the idea that the bitcoin price remains range-bound rather than entering a new bear phase.
How low will the Bitcoin price go?
Despite the uneasy backdrop, some of the loudest bearish calls are running far ahead of the data. Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone warned this week that the bitcoin price could collapse as much as 90% from its peak, potentially revisiting $10,000 in a future deflationary downturn.
The forecast echoes prior bearish calls and comes as leveraged long positions continue to unwind, with roughly $230 million in bitcoin longs liquidated over the past 24 hours.
On-chain data, however, tells a far more nuanced story.
Bitcoin Magazine Pro’s Price Forecast Tools — built on network fundamentals rather than sentiment — suggest the market is trading below fair value, not on the brink of structural collapse.
Aggregated indicators such as CVDD, Balanced Price and the Bitcoin Cycle Master currently point to a fair market value near $106,000, with long-term downside risk clustering closer to the $80,000 range rather than anywhere near five figures.
Historically, these metrics have aligned closely with cycle tops and bottoms, offering a framework that cuts through short-term noise.
While macro conditions will continue to dictate volatility, on-chain signals suggest the current drawdown looks more like late-cycle consolidation than the start of a generational unwind.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $89,317.
Strategy, the world’s largest publicly traded bitcoin holder, added nearly another $1 billion worth of BTC last week, marking its second consecutive mega-purchase as bitcoin prices pulled back toward the $90,000 level.
The company acquired 10,645 bitcoin for approximately $980.3 million, paying an average price of $92,098 per BTC, according to a filing released Monday.
Strategy now holds 671,268 bitcoin, purchased for a total of $50.33 billion, giving it an average acquisition cost of $74,972 per coin.
As with recent purchases, the acquisition was funded primarily through equity issuance. The company raised $888.2 million through sales of common stock, with the remainder coming from sales of its STRD preferred shares.
Despite ongoing concerns around shareholder dilution, the company has aggressively leaned on equity markets to increase its bitcoin exposure.
The latest buy comes amid a broader pullback in bitcoin, which dipped below $90,000 over the weekend before stabilizing near $89,600. MSTR shares were flat in premarket trading Monday.
The purchase stands out not only for its size, but for its timing. While Strategy has been a steady buyer throughout 2025, most of its weekly acquisitions in recent months were relatively modest due to fundraising constraints.
Over the past two weeks, however, Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has ramped up purchases, signaling renewed conviction despite volatility in both bitcoin and Strategy’s stock.
Strategy ($MSTR) stays on the Nasdaq 100
Separately, MSTR confirmed it will remain a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, maintaining its position in the index under the technology category.
The company has also pushed back against proposals from index provider MSCI, which is reviewing whether to exclude bitcoin treasury companies from its benchmarks.
In the letter, Strategy argued that their proposed digital asset threshold is “misguided” and would have “profoundly harmful consequences.”
MSCI is expected to make a final decision in January.
The company, formerly known as MicroStrategy, pivoted from enterprise software to a bitcoin-focused treasury strategy in 2020. The model has since been replicated by dozens of firms, though critics argue these companies increasingly resemble bitcoin investment vehicles rather than operating businesses.
Still, Saylor has remains unapologetic and bold in his purchasing decisions. As of December 14, 2025, Strategy reports a year-to-date BTC yield of 24.9%, showing its commitment to accumulating bitcoin regardless of short-term market or equity price pressures.
At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading near $89,650.
Coinbase is reportedly preparing to launch its own prediction markets, powered by U.S.-based operator Kalshi, in a move that could expand the types of assets available on the exchange amid cooling investor interest in cryptocurrencies, according to reporting from Bloomberg and CNBC.
The announcement is expected to come next week, coinciding with Coinbase’s “Coinbase System Update” showcase on Dec. 17. While the exchange declined to confirm specifics, it encouraged users to tune into the livestream for updates.
Rumors of the new prediction markets have been circulating for nearly a month. In mid-November, tech researcher Jane Manchun Wong shared a screenshot of what appeared to be Coinbase’s prediction markets dashboard.
The Information first reported the planned launch on Nov. 19, and Bloomberg later cited a source saying the event would also feature the rollout of tokenized stocks.
Coinbase as an ‘everything’ exchange
Coinbase’s moves align with CEO Brian Armstrong’s long-stated vision of building an “everything exchange” — a single platform offering access to crypto tokens, tokenized equities, and event-based contracts.
Armstrong told investors in May that Coinbase aims to become a leading financial services app within the next decade.
The exchange is accelerating these initiatives amid rising competition from firms such as Robinhood, Gemini, and Kraken
Over the past year, these platforms have expanded tokenized stock offerings outside the U.S. and explored prediction markets, reflecting growing demand for alternative trading instruments.
The timing also comes as investor sentiment toward digital assets has cooled. A wave of liquidations in highly leveraged positions in mid-October triggered a crypto market pullback, prompting some investors to shift capital into safer assets.
For Kalshi, the partnership marks another step in its strategy to integrate event contracts into mainstream trading platforms.
Earlier this year, the company embedded its prediction markets into Robinhood, and it is reportedly in discussions with other brokers, including those in crypto, to expand its reach.
Prediction markets let users speculate on outcomes ranging from elections to sports games, and they have grown increasingly popular over the past year. Traditional exchanges and crypto platforms alike are now exploring them as a new way to engage traders.
Gemini recently received approval to roll out its own prediction markets, while Crypto.com has partnered with the Trump Media & Technology Group on similar initiatives.
Coinbase’s planned in-house tokenized stock offerings would put it on par with competitors like Robinhood and Kraken, which currently offer similar products outside the U.S.
The bitcoin price was trading in the $92,000 range earlier today but has now dropped back toward $90,000, reflecting continued volatility despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point rate cut.
After briefly spiking above $93,000 yesterday, the crypto fell below $90,000 and stabilized around $90,600 at the time of writing.
The pullback comes amid mixed signals from the Fed. While the rate cut to 3.50%–3.75% was widely anticipated, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious remarks and a 9–3 split among FOMC members — one favoring a deeper 50-basis-point cut and two opposing any reduction — tempered enthusiasm for risk assets, including BTC.
Analysts described the decline as a “sell the fact” reaction, since markets had already priced in the move.
On top of this, Vanguard Group has begun allowing clients to trade spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking a notable expansion in access to crypto products for the $12 trillion asset manager’s investors.
Yet, Vanguard’s senior leadership emphasized that its fundamental view of BTC and other cryptocurrencies remains skeptical.
John Ameriks, Vanguard’s global head of quantitative equity, said Thursday at Bloomberg’s ETFs in Depth conference that Bitcoin is better seen as a speculative collectible than a productive asset.
Comparing it to a viral plush toy, Ameriks highlighted that BTC lacks income, compounding potential, and cash-flow generation — the core attributes Vanguard looks for in long-term investments.
“Absent clear evidence that the underlying technology delivers durable economic value, it’s difficult for me to think about Bitcoin as anything more than a digital Labubu,” he said, according to Bloomberg.
Despite this caution, Vanguard’s decision to allow trading of BTC ETFs on its platform was influenced by the growing track record of such products since the first BTC ETF launched in January 2024.
Ameriks said the firm wanted to ensure these ETFs accurately reflect their advertised holdings and perform as expected.
Banks engaging with bitcoin
Earlier this week, PNC Bank became the first major U.S. bank to offer direct spot bitcoin trading to eligible Private Bank clients through its digital platform, using Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service infrastructure.
The launch follows a strategic partnership announced in July and reflects a growing trend among U.S. banks to integrate bitcoin into wealth management services.
Also last week, the Bank of America urged its wealth management clients to allocate 1% to 4% of their portfolios to digital assets, signaling a major shift in its approach to Bitcoin exposure.
As of today, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $90,115.85, with a circulating supply of nearly 19.96 million BTC and a market cap of $1.81 trillion.
Prices have fluctuated modestly over the past week, reflecting the broader market’s volatility.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approvals for five digital asset firms — Ripple, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos — to become federally chartered national trust banks, marking a major milestone in the integration of cryptocurrency into traditional finance.
Once finalized, these institutions will join roughly 60 other national trust banks regulated by the OCC, gaining the ability to offer fiduciary and custody services nationwide.
Unlike larger national banks, trust banks cannot accept cash deposits or make loans, but they can hold and manage customers’ digital assets.
‘Huge news’ for crypto
Circle, issuer of the $78 billion USDC stablecoin, said the charter would enhance the safety and regulatory oversight of its reserves while enabling fiduciary digital asset custody for institutional clients.
CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasized that the federal charter would provide “greater clarity and confidence” to institutions building on Circle’s platform as stablecoins gain mainstream adoption.
Paxos, known for PYUSD and the consortium-backed Global Dollar (USDG), said federal oversight would allow businesses to issue, custody, trade, and settle digital assets with clarity and confidence.
The firm, which has operated under a New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) charter since 2015, first applied for a federal charter in 2020.
BitGo, a South Dakota–based crypto custodian, said the federal charter would allow it to expand services nationwide, including trading, staking, stablecoin, and treasury offerings for institutions. BitGo has also filed to go public, reporting $4.19 billion in revenue for the first half of 2025, up from $1.12 billion during the same period in 2024.
The approvals reflect a broader trend toward federal oversight of digital assets, coming after Anchorage Digital became the first federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S. Other firms, including Coinbase, Bridge (owned by Stripe), and Crypto.com, have also applied for federal charters.
OCC Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould emphasized that new entrants into the federal banking sector benefit consumers, foster competition, and promote innovation.
“The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance and supports a modern economy,” Gould said.
On December 18th, days before Christmas, Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of the Bitcoin Samourai Wallet, will have to surrender to prison. His crime? Creating a software tool that gave Bitcoin users comparable privacy to that which banks are expected to provide. Samourai Wallet, the brand and technology stack built by Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, was shut down by the U.S. Government in April 2024 on a variety of charges, including money laundering, but only one charge stuck after a high-profile trial, the weakest charge of all, “unlicensed money transmission”.
What does it mean to transmit money? According to prosecutors, custodial control over user funds is no longer a requirement to need an MSB license; “a USB cable transfers data from one device to another, and a frying pan transfers heat from a stove to the contents of the pan, although neither situation involves exercising ‘control’ over what is being transferred.” If the DoJ can indict a frying pan, then USB manufacturers better lawyer up!
While I’m no genius, the Supreme Court has emphasized that laws should be clear enough for an AVERAGE PERSON to understand
Let’s get into the minutiae of the specific subsection of the charge they pled to
Remarkably, even FinCEN disagrees with the DoJ’s novel legal interpretation of what constitutes a money transmitter, as guidance at the time said non-custodial services could not be money transmitters because they do not exert control over money flows. FinCEN reasserted this fact to the DoJ prosecutors in a written statement, but they went forward with the charges anyway. This critical fact was withheld from the defense for almost a year, when it was finally revealed, “the judge denied the motion to present this evidence in the hearings, without even any argument,” according to Rodriguez. Critics argue this misconduct by the DoJ prosecutors is a violation of Brady v. Maryland, denying access to material that could have undermined the unlicensed money transmission charges, or, as Donald J. Trump would put it, this prosecution was rigged.
Zack Shapiro, head of policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, warns the Trump administration and American software industry about the potential ramifications of this legal case, arguing that “collapsing the distinction between developing a tool and operating a service would introduce an untenable level of risk for anyone building privacy-enhancing or security-critical software.”
“Rodriguez and Hill ultimately accepted plea agreements in the face of substantial sentencing exposure, even though government records undermined the central regulatory theory of the case,” Shapiro added in a letter published on the BPI website, asking the Trump admin to pardon the Samourai Wallet devs.
Fundamentally, the prosecutorial approach in the Samourai Wallet case risks establishing an influential precedent that threatens the financial privacy of American citizens and stifles innovation in the U.S. crypto industry. It could shape future prosecutions and regulatory developments, potentially reclassifying non-custodial services as money transmitters under federal law—requiring national MSB registration with FinCEN—and prompting stricter state-level licensing in jurisdictions like New York or California.
Echoing the trial against Ross Ulbricht a decade earlier, this rigged case against Samourai Wallet was set up during the Biden administration with support from anti-crypto politicians whom Trump defeated in the 2025 elections with the popular mandate. During his campaign at the 2024 Bitcoin Nashville speech, Trump said, “I will always defend the right to self-custody,” and got major support from the Bitcoin and crypto industries through the shared vision of making the United States the crypto capital of the world.
“I pledge to the Bitcoin community that the day I take the oath of office, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ anti-crypto crusade will be over,” – Donald J. Trump, Nashville 2024.
David Sacks, the venture capitalist and White House A.I. & Crypto Czar, should also pay attention to this issue; otherwise, what does it even mean to be the Crypto Czar? If Bitcoin wallets end up regulated the same as banks, despite having no counterparty risk, then whose interests are really being served, Mainstreet’s or Wallstreet’s?
While the Trump admin has been very conservative during the DoJ’s prosecution and trial of the Samourai Wallet devs — and perhaps, understandably so — that stage of the legal battle is over.
It is time for the Trump administration to meet its promise to the American public and defend self-custody and the crypto industry in America. It is time for Trump to set the record straight and pardon Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, as well as the Tornado Cash devs, while we are at it, lest we have another Ross Ulbricht-style miscarriage of justice.
The Bitcoin and crypto industry is well behind this effort and has begun gathering signatures at Change.org, totaling over 5000 so far and growing, with the only official fundraising campaign at GiveSendGo.
Should Trump pardon the Samourai Wallet devs, he would be sending a clear signal to those who want surveillance-based, central bank digital currency systems to enslave Americans and the world that Americans will not stand for it. That the United States stands with the fundamental human right to privacy, dignity, due process, and the presumption of innocence, and not the tactics of intimidation developed by the likes of Joseph Gorbles, where privacy is a crime. Mass, indiscriminate surveillance, without a warrant, without due process, that is the real crime.
Sangha Renewables announced the energization of its 19.9-megawatt bitcoin mining facility in Ector County, West Texas today, in partnership with Links Genco and TotalEnergies.
The project operates behind-the-meter on a 150-megawatt solar farm, combining renewable energy generation with digital infrastructure to explore new revenue streams for the energy sector.
The facility, developed with support from Links Genco, uses bitcoin mining to provide dispatchable industrial demand that aligns with variable renewable output.
Links Genco provided energy structuring and grid compliance services, helping Sangha configure a load profile that complements solar generation while mitigating exposure to transmission constraints and local curtailment, according to a note shared with Bitcoin Magazine.
Back in May, Sangha broke ground on the bitcoin mining facility. The project, developed with an independent power producer, now known as TotalEnergies, was built on an existing solar site in efforts to turn underutilized renewable assets into profitable bitcoin-generating operations.
The opening was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony that just wrapped up in West Texas. The event brought together company representatives, local officials, and industry partners, including Links Genco and TotalEnergies.
Under the project agreement, Sangha will own and operate the mining data center, deploy high-efficiency hardware, and manage the load to maximize utilization during periods of excess solar generation.
TotalEnergies will supply comprehensive retail power solutions, including balancing services, supplemental grid power during non-solar hours, and structured energy products designed to address price volatility while maintaining operational reliability.
By situating the mining facility at the point of generation, Sangha is trying to capture value that may otherwise be lost in areas with transmission congestion.
Bitcoin mining as a means for new energy value streams
The approach also offers a framework for scalable, location-agnostic load, potentially providing additional revenue streams for renewable energy producers and supporting broader grid stability.
“This project highlights how bitcoin mining can become a tool to unlock new value streams for the energy sector,” said Spencer Marr, co-founder and president of Sangha Renewables.
Marr emphasized that partnerships with energy providers like TotalEnergies demonstrate how digital infrastructure can be integrated into long-term energy planning.
Simon Binet, vice president of Trading U.S. Gas & Power at TotalEnergies, described the arrangement as aligned with the company’s goals to provide innovative energy solutions that support decarbonization efforts in energy-intensive industries.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony included opening remarks from Sangha Renewables, Links Genco, and Judge Dustin Fawcett of Ector County, followed by a guided tour of the mining facility, press interviews, and a photoshoot.
Pakistan is moving to formalize its place in the global digital-asset economy, signing a memorandum of understanding with Binance to explore the tokenization of up to $2 billion in state-owned assets while granting early regulatory clearances to both Binance and HTX.
Together, the initiatives reflect one of the country’s most ambitious pushes yet to merge sovereign finance with blockchain-based infrastructure.
According to Pakistan’s finance ministry, the MoU with Binance will allow the government to assess tokenising sovereign bonds, treasury bills, and commodity reserves — including oil, gas, and metals — as it seeks new tools to boost liquidity and expand market reach.
Tokenization would create digital representations of real-world assets on blockchain networks, potentially widening investor access and supporting secondary-market efficiency.
JUST IN: Binance founder CZ met with Pakistan’s Finance Minister and Minister of State.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb described the agreement as a signal of Pakistan’s reform trajectory and a step toward a “long-term partnership” aimed at drawing global participation into the country’s debt and commodity markets, according to Reuters.
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao called the MoU an important marker for both Pakistan and the broader blockchain sector, suggesting it clears the way for deeper experimentation with digital asset rails at the sovereign level.
Pakistan is embracing bitcoin and crypto
The tokenisation initiative comes in parallel with a regulatory milestone. Pakistan’s newly formed Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has issued No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to Binance and HTX after a multi-agency review of each exchange’s governance, compliance, and risk-management systems.
The NOCs allow both firms to register with the Financial Monitoring Unit’s goAML platform, begin local incorporation, and prepare full license applications once the country finalizes its virtual-asset framework.
PVARA emphasized that the early clearances are not operating licenses but the first step in a phased, FATF-aligned path toward full authorization.
“Strong governance, AML and CFT compliance remain central as Pakistan builds a trusted digital-asset ecosystem,” the regulator said. Chair Bilal bin Saqib added that compliance rigor—not size—will determine which exchanges advance through the licensing process.
The developments are part of a broader digital-finance overhaul that the country has compressed into a few months.
That includes establishing PVARA, forming the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), drafting licensing and taxation rules, and laying groundwork for a central bank digital currency pilot in 2025.
The country has also signed a letter of intent with U.S.-based World Liberty Financial to explore stablecoin infrastructure and tokenised financial rails.
Saqib’s thoughts at Bitcoin MENA
Saqib, who serves as minister of state for digital assets, has repeatedly argued that Pakistan must treat Bitcoin, tokenization, and blockchain as foundational elements of future financial architecture.
At the Bitcoin MENA conference, Saqib argued that bitcoin serves as a practical tool for millions of Pakistanis rather than a speculative bet.
His case was grounded in everyday economic realities. With the Pakistani rupee losing more than half its value in five years, he said people aren’t seeking lessons in monetary theory — they’re looking for protection.
For many, “bitcoin is not theory, it’s a relief,” offering a hedge against inflation driven by political decisions and chronic currency mismanagement.
Access is the other major issue. Pakistan has a population of about 240 million, yet more than 100 million people remain unbanked. In that context, Bin Saqib said bitcoin provides a pathway to basic financial services that the traditional system has failed to deliver.
At a fireside chat, Saqib tied these grassroots use cases to a broader national strategy. Pakistan, he said, is not trying to “chase the future” but to build a new one. With roughly 70% of the population under the age of 30, the country cannot rely on outdated economic models.
Saqib said Bitcoin and blockchain-based payment rails enable Pakistani workers to get paid globally without friction, delays or excessive fees. Digital assets, and bitcoin in particular, are being viewed as infrastructure rather than speculation — new financial rails for the Global South.
The Bitcoin Magazine Pro Price Forecast Tools chart provides a comprehensive framework for identifying potential price floors during bear cycles and forecasting upside targets based on on-chain fundamentals and network-derived data points. By aggregating multiple metrics, this methodology has historically called Bitcoin market cycle peaks and bottoms with remarkable accuracy. Can these tools continue to provide a basis for reliable BTC price forecasting over the next 12 months and beyond?
The Cumulative Value Days Destroyed (CVDD) metric has historically called Bitcoin price cycle lows almost to perfection across every cycle since Bitcoin’s inception. This metric begins with Coin Days Destroyed, a measure that weights Bitcoin transfers by the duration they were held before movement. For example, holding 1 Bitcoin for 100 days produces 100 coin days destroyed when transferred, while holding 0.1 Bitcoin for the same result requires 1,000 days of holding. Large spikes indicate that the network’s most experienced long-term holders are transferring significant amounts of Bitcoin.
Figure 1: The convergence of the CVDD and Balanced Price with BTC price has historically aligned with bear market lows.View Live Chart
The CVDD takes this one step further by measuring the USD valuation at the time of transfer rather than just the coin days destroyed quantity alone. This value is then multiplied by 6 million to produce the final metric. When examined across Bitcoin’s entire history, the CVDD has indicated bear market lows with accuracy extending across every cycle. Currently, the CVDD sits at approximately $45,000, though this level trends upward over time as the metric naturally evolves with new transfers and Bitcoin’s price appreciation.
The Balanced Price metric complements this downside projection by subtracting the Transferred Price (its calculation methodology is explained later) from the Realized Price, the cost basis or average accumulation price for all bitcoin holders, providing another historically accurate bear cycle low signal.
The Top Cap metric begins with the all-time average cap, the cumulative sum of Bitcoin’s market capitalisation divided by the number of days Bitcoin has existed. This all-time weighted moving average is then multiplied by 35 to produce the Top Cap. Historically, this metric has been remarkably accurate for calling bull market peaks, though in recent cycles it has exceeded actual price action, currently projecting to a seemingly unattainable ~$620,000.
The Delta Top refines this approach by using the realized cap. The realized cap currently stands at approximately $1.1 trillion. Delta Top is calculated by subtracting the average cap from the realized cap and multiplying by 7. This metric has been accurate historically, though it was slightly off during the 2021 cycle, and it is looking more likely that it will not be reached in the current cycle, currently sitting at approximately $270,000.
Figure 2: Delta Top and Terminal Price metrics have frequently aligned with market tops.View Live Chart
The Terminal Price metric provides another layer of sophistication. It calculates the Transferred Price, the sum of Coin Days Destroyed divided by the Circulating Bitcoin Supply, and multiplies this by 21 (the maximum Bitcoin supply). This produces a price level based on the fundamental assumption of total network value distributed across all 21 million Bitcoins. Historically, the Terminal Price has been one of the most accurate top-calling tools, marking previous cycle peaks nearly to perfection. This metric currently sits at approximately $290,000, not too far above Delta Top’s current value.
Bitcoin Cycle Master: Aggregated Bitcoin Price Fair Value Framework
Integrating all these individual metrics into a unified framework produces the Bitcoin Cycle Master chart, which combines these on-chain forecast tools for confluence. This has helped to identify where Bitcoin may be in a cycle, either close to bull or bear market highs, or oscillating around its ‘Fair Market Value’.
Figure 3: The Bitcoin Cycle Master currently indicates a Fair Market Value of approximately $106,000.View Live Chart
Examining the past two cycles demonstrates the utility of this framework. When Bitcoin trades above the Fair Market Value band, bull markets have historically entered exponential growth phases. When beneath this band, Bitcoin typically signals bear market conditions where defensive positioning and aggressive accumulation become appropriate strategies.
By extracting raw data from the price forecast tools and projecting the slope of both the CVDD and Terminal Price forward to the end of 2026, two scenarios emerge. The CVDD, which has moved at a predictable rate of change over the past 90 days, projects to approximately $80,000 by December 31, 2026. This level could represent a potential bear cycle floor, though Bitcoin has already traded beneath this level during recent downward moves, suggesting current prices may already offer compelling value.
Figure 4: Extrapolating the CVDD and Terminal Price metrics across 2026 provides a considerable range for potential BTC price action.
The Terminal Price, extrapolating its current upward trend, could reach over $500,000 by the end of 2026, though this projection could only be a realistic outcome with a bullish macro environment with significant liquidity injections and broad realization of Bitcoin’s fundamental value proposition.
Conclusion: What Bitcoin Price Forecast Tools Are Signaling for 2025–2026
These Bitcoin price forecast tools, formulated using on-chain fundamental and network-derived data points rather than psychological levels or traditional technical analysis applicable to equities and commodities, have historically provided exceptional accuracy in calling market cycle peaks and bottoms. Forecasting based on their current values suggests a potential bear cycle floor in the $80,000 range by the end of 2026, with upside targets potentially reaching over $500,000, depending on macro conditions and capital flows.
While these projections represent extrapolations of current trends rather than certainties, the historical accuracy and on-chain foundation of these metrics warrant serious consideration. Investors and traders should continue monitoring both the raw price forecast tools and the aggregated Bitcoin Cycle Master framework to identify fair valuation levels, extreme overvaluation warnings, and attractive accumulation zones within the current cycle. However, all projections change daily as new data emerges, making reactive analysis superior to long-term prediction.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.
A major rule change is being considered by MSCI, one of the most influential index providers in global markets. If adopted, it would materially alter how public companies that hold digital assets—particularly Bitcoin—are classified and included in major equity indexes.
For companies, investors, asset managers, and anyone who depends on index-based benchmarks, this proposal raises fundamental questions about how markets define operating businesses and what role balance sheets should play in index eligibility.
Join the call for MSCI to withdraw its digital asset exclusion rule.
Here’s what’s at stake—and why it matters.
1. MSCI Is Proposing a New 50% Balance-Sheet Threshold
At the center of the proposal is a simple rule:
If digital assets make up 50% or more of a company’s total assets, that company would be excluded from MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes.
MSCI’s rationale is that crossing this threshold allegedly changes the company’s “primary business,” making it more fund-like rather than operational.
This single ratio would override all other indicators of what the company actually does.
2. The Proposal Misclassifies Operating Companies as Investment Funds
The core objection is straightforward: holding Bitcoin on a balance sheet does not transform an operating company into an investment fund.
Operating companies generate revenue from products and services
They employ people, invest in R&D, and serve customers
Treasury assets exist to support long-term capital strategy
By contrast, investment funds exist solely to manage portfolios for return.
Treating these two structures as equivalent—based on a balance-sheet ratio alone—collapses a distinction that has long been foundational to corporate and securities law.
If your organization relies on clear, fundamentals-based definitions of operating companies, this misclassification matters. Bitcoin For Corporations is asking MSCI to withdraw the proposal and engage on a more principled framework. You can add your name to the open letter here.
3. Treasury Strategy Does Not Redefine Core Business Activity
A company can change how it stores excess capital without changing what it does.
A manufacturer that holds cash remains a manufacturer
A software firm holding foreign currency remains a software firm
A company holding Bitcoin as treasury reserve remains an operating company
Treasury allocation is a capital management decision, not a change in business model.
4. This Would Be a Radical Departure From Decades of Index Practice
Historically, index classification has been driven by operational reality, not asset composition alone.
Primary business determination has relied on:
Revenue sources
Earnings contribution
Ongoing commercial activity
This proposal replaces that holistic approach with a single market-price-driven metric on the asset side of the balance sheet—something never applied consistently across asset classes before.
5. Digital Assets Are Being Singled Out—Uniquely
Under the proposal:
A company with 51% of assets in Bitcoin → excluded
A company with 51% in real estate → included
A company with 51% in equities or commodities → included
No equivalent rule exists for other treasury assets.
This lack of neutrality directly conflicts with the principles that global indexes are supposed to uphold.
6. The Proposal Conflicts With Core Index Principles
MSCI’s benchmarks are built on three foundational ideas:
Neutrality – no asset-class favoritism
Representativeness – reflecting real economic activity
Stability – avoiding unnecessary churn
A rule that reclassifies companies based on volatile market prices undermines all three.
7. The Rule Would Introduce Structural Instability Into Indexes
Consider a company with:
45% of assets in digital form → eligible
No operational change
Normal market appreciation pushes it to 51%
Under the proposal, that company would suddenly be excluded—despite:
No change in revenue
No change in operations
No change in business strategy
This creates a scenario where companies could flip in and out of indexes purely due to price movement, forcing unnecessary rebalancing, costs, and tracking error for index-linked funds.
This kind of mechanical instability would impose real costs on index-tracking funds, issuers, and long-term investors—without improving market clarity. That’s why companies and market participants are urging MSCI to withdraw the proposal and revisit it with industry input. Join the call for MSCI to withdraw this rule proposal, and add your signature to the open letter here.
8. A More Robust Alternative Already Exists
The issue is not classification—it’s how classification is done.
A principles-based, multi-factor framework would evaluate:
Revenue and earnings mix
Legal and regulatory status
Core corporate activities (employees, R&D, capex)
Public disclosures and stated strategy
This approach reflects the entire business, not a single fluctuating ratio.
9. The Coalition’s Ask Is Clear and Constructive
Market participants are calling for a two-step solution:
Withdraw the current proposal due to its structural flaws
Engage with the market to develop a neutral, principles-based framework that preserves index integrity
The goal is not special treatment—but consistent treatment aligned with long-standing market norms.
Why This Matters
Indexes are not academic exercises. They:
Guide trillions of dollars in capital allocation
Shape passive investment flows
Influence cost of capital for public companies
If index rules become arbitrary, unstable, or asset-specific, they stop reflecting the real economy—and start distorting it.
Final Thought
If your organization depends on fundamentals-based equity benchmarks, this proposal affects you—whether or not you hold digital assets today.
Indexes only work when they remain neutral, stable, and grounded in operating reality. Market participants are asking MSCI to withdraw the proposed digital asset rule and work toward a principles-based alternative.If you or your organization depend on fair and consistent equity benchmarks, adding your signature to the open letter helps ensure those standards are preserved.
Index integrity relies on clear principles, not price-driven thresholds.
Engagement now helps ensure global benchmarks remain neutral, stable, and representative for everyone who relies on them.
Disclaimer: This content was prepared on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations for informational purposes only. It reflects the author’s own analysis and opinion and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Nothing in this article constitutes an offer, invitation, or solicitation to purchase, sell, or subscribe for any security or financial product.
Bitcoin is no longer just a grassroots monetary revolution. It’s in the process of moving from the periphery of finance into its centre. The rise of Bitcoin treasury companies is a major force behind this shift. These are firms that accumulate bitcoin not as a side bet, but as a core balance sheet holding. In doing so, they provide access to capital markets, offer yield-bearing instruments, and reshape how companies think about monetary preservation.
This article explores what Bitcoin treasury companies are, how they operate, and why their emergence matters, for both corporate finance and Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory.
Key Takeaways
Bitcoin treasury companies hold bitcoin as a long-term treasury reserve, often replacing fiat cash or short-term bonds.
These companies expand bitcoin’s investable capital base by enabling access through public equity or corporate debt.
Public treasury firms may trade at a premium to their bitcoin holdings due to market access, regulatory arbitrage, and capital efficiency.
Some companies issue bitcoin-backed financial products such as yield notes or strategic reserves.
What is a Treasury Company?
A Bitcoin treasury company business model, whereby a business integrates bitcoin into its treasury management framework. This approach prioritizes monetary certainty over fiat liquidity. The company treats bitcoin as a base-layer reserve asset superior to sovereign currency, rather than a hedge or speculative position.
Treasury companies may be public or private. Public companies often use their regulatory status to issue stock or debt, which is then converted into bitcoin. Private firms generally rely on retained earnings. Regardless of structure, the key factor is that bitcoin becomes the foundation of the corporate treasury, not a side asset.
These companies use bitcoin to manage long-term purchasing power, defend against monetary debasement, and unlock investor access in regions or structures where direct exposure is restricted. The treasury strategy shapes their business identity and capital allocation, often attracting shareholders who value monetary independence.
For a deeper look at the three operating models—pure play, hybrid operator, and strategic holder—see this breakdown from Michael Saylor.
What Purpose Does It Serve?
Bitcoin treasury companies restructure their balance sheets to reflect a predictable monetary strategy championing absolute scarcity over fiat stability. Holding bitcoin allows them to escape the inflationary decay of sovereign currency while signaling long-term capital discipline.
The strategy serves two core purposes:
it defends shareholder value by shifting reserves into a scarce, non-counterparty asset.
it creates financial access for investors who cannot hold bitcoin directly. Through their equity or debt instruments, treasury companies channel restricted capital into the Bitcoin ecosystem.
These firms also develop financial products around their holdings. Bitcoin-backed notes, interest-bearing instruments, and convertible structures create yield opportunities. In these cases, the treasury company acts as a financial services platform as well as a capital allocator.
Expanding Bitcoin’s Capital Base
Bitcoin treasury companies serve as access points to the asset for capital that would otherwise remain on the sidelines. As Steven Lubka put it, they are “fundamentally expanding the amount of capital that can flow into bitcoin… They are not competing for the same pool of dollars; they are making the pool larger.”
Most institutional allocators are still trapped inside structures that prohibit direct bitcoin exposure. Their mandates require them to hold equities, bonds, or fund shares—not bearer assets. Treasury companies bypass that restriction. By holding bitcoin and offering tradable equity or fixed income products, they act as financial bridges that translate bitcoin exposure into forms institutions can legally hold.
This approach allows adoption to scale without waiting for regulatory charters or compliance approval. This is infrastructure that routes around the choke points.
Mechanics: How It Works
While each company operates within its own legal, regulatory, and financial constraints, most follow a similar operational structure. The details may vary, but the following components form the backbone of how they operate.
Acquisition – The company acquires bitcoin using excess cash or proceeds from capital raises. This is typically done through over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks or institutional-grade exchanges. Some firms that operate in the mining space may allocate mined bitcoin directly to treasury, removing market exposure altogether.
Custody – Firms must decide between self-custody and third-party custodians. Institutional custodians like Fidelity Digital Assets, Anchorage, or Coinbase Custody offer compliance and insurance options, while self-custody provides sovereignty at the cost of internal security complexity. Custody decisions affect not just risk, but also regulatory posture.
Accounting – Under current US GAAP rules, bitcoin is classified as an intangible asset. Impairments are recognized if market value drops below the acquisition cost, but gains are not recorded unless realized through a sale. This creates an asymmetric treatment that can distort quarterly earnings and force conservative reporting, even if treasury value increases.
Reporting – Public treasury companies are required to disclose bitcoin holdings and changes in treasury structure through filings, earnings reports, and shareholder updates. Some choose to go further, publishing regular updates or dedicating resources to explaining their bitcoin strategy in detail.
Security – Private key management is without question, a critical part of the operation. Companies typically use multisignature wallets, geographic key separation, cold storage, and internal controls to secure holdings. Firms with large positions may employ Shamir’s Secret Sharing or multiple independent signers to ensure redundancy and resilience.
Governance – Policies must define how bitcoin is acquired, secured, and reported. This includes buy thresholds, custody control frameworks, access rights, key management protocols, and recovery plans. Strong governance ensures the strategy survives beyond the initial executive vision and becomes embedded in company operations.
Bitcoin treasury companies operate within a regulatory environment where public firms enjoy broader access to capital markets than individuals or funds. This creates a structural advantage. A public company can issue equity or debt, raise fiat capital efficiently, and convert it to bitcoin. In contrast, many institutional investors face custodial, legal, or charter-based constraints that prevent them from holding bitcoin directly.
This dynamic creates a form of regulatory arbitrage. The company acts as a wrapper for bitcoin exposure, allowing capital to enter the market through familiar financial instruments like stocks and bonds. Investors gain indirect access to bitcoin, often through vehicles they are already authorized to hold.
This mechanism is similar to financial innovations of the past. In the 1980s, Salomon Brothers restructured the bond market by slicing and repackaging fixed-income assets to match investor demand. Other sectors used wrappers to route capital around institutional constraints. Bitcoin treasury companies apply the same principle: they turn capital markets into a funnel and aim it at a harder monetary asset.
Regulatory Arbitrage: Why These Companies Even Exist
Bitcoin treasury companies operate in a unique zone of regulatory asymmetry. As Lubka notes on p39, of issue 39 of Bitcoin Magazine, “What bitcoin treasury companies are doing is engaging in regulatory arbitrage.”
Public companies can access large pools of capital through stock and debt issuance. They can then deploy that capital into bitcoin. Retail investors, pension funds, and even many hedge funds cannot hold bitcoin directly—but they can buy shares in public companies.
This is not a technicality. It’s a structural end-run around the gatekeepers of capital. While a retirement fund can’t buy spot bitcoin, it can buy shares in a firm like MicroStrategy. That dynamic turns treasury companies into Trojan horses—pulling bitcoin exposure into portfolios that would otherwise be prohibited from touching it.
Background and Origins
The treasury model gained serious traction in August 2020, when MicroStrategy ($MSTR) allocated $250 million of its reserves to bitcoin. CEO Michael Saylor framed the move as a rational response to fiat debasement and falling real yields. The firm continued raising capital through debt and equity issuance to expand its position, ultimately acquiring over 650,000 BTC.
Other public companies followed. Tahini’s began stacking bitcoin a mere days after MicroStrategy. Tesla ($TSLA) added $1.5 billion in bitcoin to its treasury in early 2021. Square ($SQ), now Block, also made an allocation, citing long-term purchasing power as the key motivation. These high-profile moves signaled that bitcoin was gaining legitimacy as a treasury reserve among large-cap firms.
To support institutional adoption, MicroStrategy, in partnership with BTC Inc launched Bitcoin for Corporations, an annual event aimed at guiding CFOs, legal teams, and boards through the process of integrating bitcoin into treasury strategy. The event helped normalize bitcoin discussions inside traditional corporate structures.
A major barrier to adoption—accounting treatment—began to shift in 2023. The FASB approved new rules allowing companies to report bitcoin holdings at fair market value. This replaced the outdated impairment model and removed one of the most cited objections among public company CFOs. The change went into effect in 2025.
MicroStrategy ($MSTR) is the most established treasury company in the market. It has redefined its corporate identity around bitcoin accumulation and capital efficiency. The company has raised billions through convertible notes and direct equity issuance, with proceeds allocated to bitcoin. Shareholders now view the firm as a long-term access vehicle to bitcoin’s monetary appreciation.
MetaPlanet ($3350.T) is a Japanese firm that executes a similar game plan to Strategy. Operating within Japan’s distinct regulatory environment, it adapts the treasury playbook to fit regional constraints. MetaPlanet illustrates how treasury adoption can be localized without losing strategic focus.
Smarter Web Company ($MCP), based in the UAE, blends infrastructure development with bitcoin accumulation. Its jurisdiction allows more flexibility in treasury construction, enabling a hybrid model that integrates operational revenue with bitcoin reserves.
Nakamoto Holdings ($NAKA), a subsidiary of KindlyMD, has built a vertically integrated treasury strategy that includes internal capital management and structured products. The firm was profiled by Steven Lubka as an example of how smaller organizations can implement bitcoin treasury models with institutional rigor.
Evaluating a Treasury Company and Measuring Success
The success of a bitcoin treasury company depends on more than just the size of its holdings. Investors should evaluate how efficiently the company acquires bitcoin, whether it increases bitcoin per share over time, and how effectively it monetizes its position.
A key metric is mNAV, or multiple of net asset value. This measures the company’s market capitalization relative to its bitcoin holdings. A high mNAV suggests that the market values not just the bitcoin, but also the company’s capital efficiency, access, and ability to grow its holdings faster than the open market.
Companies that compound bitcoin holdings through accretive financing deserve to trade at a premium. This premium reflects future expectations of value creation. However, poorly managed firms can destroy per-share bitcoin by issuing too much equity or overpaying for marginal gains.
Evaluating treasury companies requires examining their capital structure, acquisition timing, product issuance, and accounting treatment.
Bitcoin treasury companies operate within a set of structural risks that are distinct from simple asset volatility. These risks are operational, regulatory, reputational and political. There’s also a fifth opposing risk, which is the risk of not holding or having exposure to bitcoin at all.
Operational Risk
Managing a bitcoin treasury introduces technical and procedural risks. Custody is not a service you can outsource without trust tradeoffs, and self-custody requires enterprise-grade key management practices. Multisignature configurations, geographic key separation, internal access controls, and incident recovery protocols must be implemented with precision. Any compromise in key security, whether from internal error or external attack, can result in unrecoverable losses. For companies holding hundreds of millions or billions in bitcoin, this becomes a single point of existential failure.
Regulatory Risk
Bitcoin exists outside the traditional financial system, and many jurisdictions still lack a clear legal framework for its treatment. Treasury companies must navigate unclear tax rules, evolving securities classifications, cross-border restrictions, and ambiguous corporate governance expectations. Regulatory risk is amplified for public companies, which face additional scrutiny from auditors, exchanges, and shareholders. In many regions, bitcoin remains classified as a speculative asset, limiting how it can be reported or deployed within treasury operations.
Reputational Risk
Corporate media, ESG pressure groups, and risk-averse investors typically view bitcoin adoption as speculative or irresponsible, especially during periods of price drawdown. Even competent treasury execution can be framed as reckless if narrative conditions turn. Leadership teams must be prepared to defend the strategy publicly and educate stakeholders who may not yet grasp the long-term monetary thesis.
Political Risk
One of the most insidious risks facing treasury companies is the growing institutional pushback from legacy finance. In 2025, MSCI, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs’ Datonomy index excluded MicroStrategy and Coinbase from digital asset classifications, despite bitcoin representing a majority of their balance sheet exposure.
These companies were strategically removed because their alignment with bitcoin poses a structural threat to the existing banking order. Their inclusion in major indexes would legitimize bitcoin as a competing monetary system and weaken the financial establishment’s control over capital allocation.
This index engineering reduces investor access and protects legacy institutions. It is designed to suppress entities that store capital in an asset that cannot be debased, seized, or rehypothecated.
Monetary Risk of Not Holding Bitcoin
A more widespread risk facing corporate treasuries is the cost of continuing to rely on fiat-based strategies. Inflation erodes capital over time by reducing purchasing power. Treasury strategies that depend on short-term government bonds or bank deposits are exposed to monetary policy decisions that guarantee devaluation over time. Choosing to avoid bitcoin leads to long-term capital deterioration and the progressive weakening of the balance sheet. For companies that operate in inflation-prone environments or that sit on large fiat reserves, this becomes structural loss.
Holding cash yields nothing. The U.S. M2 money supply has grown by more than 7 percent annually since 1971, with recent years far exceeding that rate. A company holding idle dollars is losing 7 percent of purchasing power each year.
U.S. Treasuries yield between 1 and 3 percent in most cycles. Compared to 7 percent monetary expansion, this results in a real loss of 4 to 6 percent per year. These figures may widen as governments and central banks continue expanding credit to support growing debt obligations.
Stock buybacks are often framed as shareholder-friendly but rely on equity valuations inflated by the same monetary expansion that devalues cash. Once the capital is spent, it cannot be reallocated or used to defend the balance sheet. Buybacks might boost earnings per share but do nothing to preserve long-term monetary value.
Bitcoin provides a structurally different outcome. It has no issuer, no credit risk, and a fixed supply of 21 million. It is the only asset that has consistently outpaced M2 expansion over time. Michael Saylor projects a 29 percent annual return over the next 20 years. If that projection proves accurate, a modest allocation to a bitcoin treasury could fully offset fiat debasement.
As little as 2 percent in bitcoin may be enough to break even in real terms. With regular rebalancing, an allocation between 5 and 30 percent could preserve or grow purchasing power while still maintaining fiat liquidity. This is a strategic hedge against fiat decay and should be evaluated as a treasury defense mechanism, not a speculative bet.
Bitcoin ETF – A regulated investment product that tracks the price of bitcoin. ETFs offer simplicity but no direct control over bitcoin custody or strategic usage.
Bitcoin Strategic Reserve – A deliberate long-term allocation of bitcoin used to defend against fiat dilution and preserve capital over time. Treasury companies typically build this into their core strategy.
Further Reading
For readers looking to explore this topic in greater depth, two standout resources offer high-signal material:
BitcoinForCorporations.com – A curated collection of articles, videos, and resources tailored for executive teams, CFOs, and corporate strategists evaluating bitcoin treasury models.
Bitcoin treasury companies do more than store reserves in a the worlds best money. They restructure balance sheets around monetary certainty, offer regulated access to bitcoin, and create financial instruments anchored to absolute scarcity.
As inflation accelerates and fiat-based finance becomes more unstable, treasury companies may become lifeboats for capital seeking long-term preservation.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is rolling back legacy policy on digital assets, marking another step in its reorientation toward regulated crypto markets.
Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline D. Pham said the agency is withdrawing its years-old guidance on the “actual delivery” of virtual currencies, a document that had shaped how firms could custody and settle digital asset transactions since 2020.
The decision clears a path for new guidance that reflects the rise of tokenized markets, recent legislation and the CFTC’s growing oversight of spot crypto trading.
“Eliminating outdated and overly complex guidance that penalizes the crypto industry and stifles innovation is exactly what the Administration has set out to do this year,” Pham said.
Pham added that the move shows the agency can protect U.S. traders while supporting broader access to regulated markets.
The withdrawn advisory outlined the conditions under which virtual currency could be considered “delivered” in retail commodity transactions. The framework was drafted in an era when regulated digital asset infrastructure was limited and focused on Bitcoin custody and settlement.
Since then, Congress passed the GENIUS Act, the CFTC opened the door to regulated spot trading, and tokenization has become a core focus across major financial institutions. Staff now views the 2020 advisory as out of step with current market realities.
The withdrawal also advances the CFTC’s effort to implement recommendations from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.
The CFTC’s broader crypto policy turn
The announcement builds on a series of steps taken in early December that signal an effort to bring crypto activity onshore and under federal supervision.
Earlier this month, the agency launched a pilot program that permits Bitcoin and other crypto to serve as collateral in regulated derivatives markets. The program includes detailed reporting and risk-management requirements for futures commission merchants, along with updated guidance on how tokenized assets fit within existing CFTC rules.
Under the pilot, firms must submit weekly reports that itemize the digital assets held in customer accounts and notify regulators of any material incidents tied to tokenized collateral.
The structure is meant to provide the CFTC with visibility into operational and custody risks while firms test the use of crypto in margin accounts.
The agency also issued a no-action position for FCMs that accept non-securities digital assets, including payment stablecoins, clarifying how capital and segregation requirements apply. At the same time, staff withdrew restrictions from 2020 that had limited the use of digital assets as collateral.
CFTC’s guidance with U.S. spot crypto markets
The CFTC also approved federally regulated spot Bitcoin and crypto trading for the first time. Bitnomial, a U.S. derivatives platform, will begin offering spot, perpetuals, futures and options on a single exchange under full CFTC supervision next week.
The exchange’s structure supports unified margin and net settlement across product types, reducing redundant collateral requirements for traders.
Pham said the expansion of spot trading under CFTC oversight offers U.S. traders a secure alternative to offshore venues and creates an environment where domestic firms can operate without state-by-state uncertainty.
The agency’s shift extends beyond trading. Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, secured approval to relaunch in the U.S. after upgrading its compliance systems and acquiring a registered platform.
The CFTC has said its broader goal is to strengthen oversight of digital markets without blocking the adoption of new technology.
In other news, the CFTC has approved Gemini’s application for a Designated Contract Market license, clearing the way for the exchange to launch a prediction market and potentially expand into crypto futures, options, and perpetual swaps.
Gemini first applied for the license in 2020, well before the recent surge of interest in prediction markets and platforms.
The bitcoin price fell on Wednesday night into Thursday, even after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered interest rates, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled a cautious approach heading into 2026.
On Wednesday, the Fed cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%–3.75%, a move widely expected by markets. However, the 9–3 split among Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members and Powell’s hawkish remarks during the press conference tempered investor enthusiasm for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
One official favored a deeper 50-basis-point cut, while two voted against any reduction.
The Bitcoin price briefly jumped over $94,000 but then dropped below $90,000 and stabilized around $89,730 at the time of writing.
Bitfinex analysts shared with Bitcoin Magazine that the Fed’s unexpectedly hawkish tone surprised markets, causing a price reversal and kept risk appetites in check.
The Fed’s updated “dot plot” shows little consensus for more than a single 25-basis-point cut in 2026, with stronger growth forecasts and shifting tax policy limiting near-term easing.
Timot Lamarre, director of market research at Unchained, wrote to Bitcoin Magazine that “ There is so much to be bullish about in the bitcoin space – from Square facilitating bitcoin payments to large institutions like Vanguard now allowing their clients access to bitcoin ETFs to quantitative tightening coming to an end.”
Lamarre said that bitcoin’s recent price movements show a gap between growing adoption and the price increase that usually comes with higher demand.
Bitcoin price decline and broader market pullback
Bitcoin price’s recent pullback also reflects broader market concerns. Technology stocks, including Oracle, suffered after disappointing earnings and warnings about slower-than-expected AI-related profits.
Oracle shares fell 11% in after-hours trading following revenue and profit forecasts below analysts’ expectations.
The Fed’s outlook for 2026 suggests only one additional rate cut, fewer than markets had anticipated. Asian stock markets declined, and U.S. equity futures pointed lower, while European trading remained subdued.
Standard Chartered recently revised its year-end Bitcoin forecast, lowering its target from $200,000 to $100,000, citing a slowdown in corporate treasury buying and reliance on ETF inflows to support future price gains.
Bernstein analysts recently said that they see a structural shift in Bitcoin’s market cycle, meaning that the traditional four-year pattern has broken. They forecast an elongated bull cycle driven by steady institutional buying, which offsets retail selling, and minimal ETF outflows.
The bank raised its 2026 price target to $150,000 and expects the cycle to peak near $200,000 in 2027, maintaining a long-term 2033 target of roughly $1 million per BTC.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan remains bullish over the next year, projecting a gold-linked, volatility-adjusted Bitcoin target of $170,000 within six to twelve months, factoring in market fluctuations and mining costs.
Analysts say Bitcoin’s decline after the Fed announcement reflects a “sell the fact” dynamic. “The market had fully priced in the cut ahead of time,” said Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey Group. “Concerns over political and economic developments in 2026, combined with potential inflation from AI-driven capital expenditure, are weighing on risk sentiment.”
Last week, Bitcoin price saw a volatile ride, dipping to $84,000 before bulls pushed it up to $94,000, then dropping slightly below $88,000, and closing the week at $90,429.
The market now faces key support at $87,200 and $84,000, with deeper support zones around $72,000–$68,000 and $57,700.
Resistance levels stand at $94,000, $101,000, $104,000, and a thick zone between $107,000–$110,000, with momentum likely slowing above $96,000.
Typically, rate cuts lead to bullish momentum, but the market may have already priced in this month’s rate cut. The bitcoin price has fallen roughly 28% since its October all-time high.
At the time of publishing, the bitcoin price is at $90,114.
Just weeks after announcing a stablecoin, Swedish fintech giant Klarna is taking another step into crypto. The company has teamed up with Privy, a wallet infrastructure platform owned by Stripe, to explore digital asset solutions for its users.
The partnership will focus on research and development of crypto wallet features, the company said. The two aim to make it easier for everyday users to store, use, and send digital assets. The move builds on the company’s recent launch of KlarnaUSD, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued on the Tempo blockchain.
“Millions already trust Klarna to manage everyday spending, saving, and shopping,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder. “That puts us in a unique position to bring crypto into the financial lives of normal people, not just early adopters. With Privy, we plan to build products that feel as intuitive as any other Klarna feature.”
KlarnaUSD was launched with Tempo and Bridge, a Stripe-backed stablecoin infrastructure provider.
The token is live on Tempo’s testnet and expected to launch on mainnet in 2026. The fintech giant said the stablecoin could reduce global cross-border payment costs, currently estimated at $120 billion annually.
JUST IN: Fintech giant Klarna to develop #Bitcoin and crypto wallet features within its financial products.
Privy powers over 100 million accounts for more than 1,500 developers. The platform supports crypto-native applications like OpenSea and Hyperliquid.
Henri Stern, CEO and co-founder of Privy, said the partnership will allow users to hold a wide variety of digital assets, trade safely, and transact with friends anywhere in the world.
“We’re proud to partner with world-class fintechs like Klarna, providing the secure, enterprise-ready infrastructure they need,” Stern said. “Privy aims to be the backbone for any business that wants to harness the exciting capabilities crypto and stablecoins offer.”
The initiative reflects a growing trend. Traditional fintechs are now testing ways to integrate crypto tools into everyday consumer finance. The company said any future wallet or crypto product would require the necessary regulatory approvals before launch.
Venture capital firm a16z estimates that 716 million people globally hold cryptocurrencies. Between 40 million and 70 million transact with crypto each month. That figure grows by roughly 10 million users a year.
Klarna’s push into crypto marks a sharp turn for the company. CEO Siemiatkowski was once a vocal skeptic of digital currencies.
He said the market’s maturity and Klarna’s global reach now justify this entry. Klarna serves 114 million customers and processes $112 billion in annual gross merchandise volume.
The company plans to explore further crypto initiatives. A blog post on Thursday hinted at a new announcement “in a week or so,” suggesting more developments are coming soon.
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