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6 Corporate Giants Hold Bitcoin Worth More Than $11.4 Billion

Ever since Bitcoin (BTC) breached the previous record of $20,000 in December 2020, more institutional investors have given the top cryptocurrency a keen eye as it continues to scale new heights.

BTC recently set a new all-time high (ATH) above $64,500, given that it has been on a record-breaking trend throughout this year.

BlockData has acknowledged that six corporate giants have taken the Bitcoin holding culture a notch higher as they have BTC worth more than $11.4 billion in their custody. The blockchain insights provider explained:

“These 6 companies alone hold over $11.4 billion in Bitcoin. The Digital Asset Custody space is booming.”

The six firms are MicroStrategy, Tesla, Ruffer, Galaxy Digital, StoneRidge, and Square holding 91,579 BTC, 43,200 BTC, 27,000 BTC, 16,402BTC, 10,889 BTC, and 8,027 BTC, respectively.

Microstrategy sets the ball rolling

Leading American business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has been setting a precedent in Bitcoin institutional investment as it recently scooped up an additional 205 BTC for $10 million.

The company’s CEO Michael Saylor stated that they were more inclined towards Bitcoin because it was a more compelling store of wealth than gold. He asserted:

“The returns on gold didn’t look nearly as compelling as Bitcoin. So we eventually found crypto because, in essence, in the crypto world you can create a digital world and Bitcoin is that digital gold.”

Bitcoin is ready for another leg up

According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki-Young Ju:

“BTC is ready to get another leg up. A significant amount of Bitcoins has flowed out across all exchanges, weakening selling pressure.”

Whenever Bitcoin leaves crypto exchanges, a holding culture is signified.

Market analyst Michael van de Poppe believes that Bitcoin will have to flip the $56.5k resistance level to support if it has to retest the $60,000 area as this will guarantee an upward momentum.

Only a Small Fraction of Institutional and Corporate Money Entered into Bitcoin Market

As Bitcoin (BTC) continues consolidating between the $30k and $40k range for more than two months, the crypto community is waiting with bated breath to see its next move.

Nevertheless, the amount invested by institutions and corporates in the Bitcoin market is a small per cent of their total cash reserve.

Market analyst Lark Davis explained:

“There are around 41,000 publicly traded companies globally, of which less than 2 dozen have taken positions in Bitcoin.”

He added:

“Publicly traded companies have around 10 trillion in cash reserves globally. Of that, around 6 billion has been invested into BTC as a way for companies to get off the sinking ship of fiat. Yes, just 0.06% of publicly-traded company cash has entered BTC.”

MicroStrategy, a leading American business intelligence firm, has been setting the ball rolling in the institutional BTC investment arena. For instance, it acquired additional 13,005 Bitcoins last month, bringing its total portfolio to 105,085 BTC.

Institutional investment has been the engine behind the recent remarkable bull run, which saw Bitcoin’s price rise from $20K in December 2020 to an all-time high (ATH) of $64.8K recorded in mid-April.

Bitcoin funding rates on perpetual futures remain negative

According to on-chain metrics provider Glassnode:

“Bitcoin funding rates on Perpetual Futures markets have been consistently negative since the sell-off in May. The last time funding rates remained negative for such an extended period of time was in Mar-Apr 2020.”

Despite the BTC funding rates remaining negative, new users entering the network are on a record-breaking move, as acknowledged by William Clemente III. The on-chain analyst pointed out:

“Bitcoin making all-time highs in new users coming on the network.”

As Visa card holders’ crypto spending topped $1 billion in the first half of this year, it remains to be seen whether institutional investments will jumpstart the consolidating Bitcoin market.

Shinhan bank Opens Door to Corporate Crypto Accounts, Paving the Way for Institutional Adoption

As the first domestic lender on South Korean soil, Shinhan Bank has rolled out real-name corporate accounts to enable transactions from cash to crypto-based on its partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Korbit.

Local regulations made this venture a reality by allowing bank-partnered and licensed crypto exchanges to render cash-to-crypto services.

Furthermore, the passage of the Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information Act extended counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering financing regulations to digital asset service providers.

The bank acknowledged that it averted such risks through the Shinhan-backed custody service KDAC.

Digital asset custody is a service that safely manages and stores digital assets owned by various organizations and entities. Therefore, the corporations taking part in the project are chosen by Shinhan Bank and are members of Korea Digital Asset Custody (KDAC).

With the incoming South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol pledged of easing crypto regulations; analysis shows the market is on a solid path to being significantly legitimized.

As a result, local banks in the nation intend to ride this wave while seeking authorization to enter the crypto space through their representative body called the Korea Federation of Banks.

The banks had raised concerns that the crypto market in the country could be monopolized because a “certain local crypto exchange” accounted for 90% of the market share.

Given that crypto taxation has been a burning issue in South Korea since its parliament tabled a bill in 2020 where cryptocurrency gains would be slapped with a 20% gain, the incoming president vowed to zero tax crypto trading gains not exceeding 50 million won, approximately $40,000.