As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift.
As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies continue to gain attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks are adjusting to the shift. Here are some of the top stories highlighting the intersection of old guard and new school finance this week.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) said on Monday that it bought 2,138 bitcoins between December 23 and 29 for an average price of $97,837 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. The company now holds an aggregate of approximately 446,400 bitcoins, which were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $27.9B.
Bit Digital (BTBT) said on Monday that it acquired the real estate and building for a build-to-suit 5MW Tier-3 data center expansion project in Montreal, Canada. This site also comprises part of Bit Digital's 288MW proprietary pipeline announced earlier this year. Bit Digital purchased the site for C$33.5M excluding fees. Bit Digital initially funded the purchase with cash on hand and is in the process of securing mortgage financing for both the site acquisition and subsequent infrastructure capex.
On Monday, Piper Sandler increased estimates for Robinhood (HOOD) saying the company announced better than expected December to-date trading volumes. The most surprising data point is the resilience in crypto volumes post-election, as crypto volumes declined just 20% from elevated November volumes and came in over two-times higher than Piper's previous estimate, the analyst said. Piper increased its Q4 earnings per share estimate to 47c from 33c due to the impact of stronger than expected December trading volumes. The firm kept an Overweight rating on Robinhood with a $54 price target.
On Wednesday, Jefferies raised the firm's price target on Core Scientific (CORZ) to $20 from $19 and kept a Buy rating on the shares as part of a 2025 outlook. The firm believes we are in the “very early innings” of data center demand driven by artificial intelligence. For the towers, domestic carrier capex investment in 5G has disappointed, the analyst said.
On Friday, Wolfe Research raised the firm's price target on Robinhood to $51 from $50 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares as part of a 2025 playbook for the brokers, asset managers, and exchanges. The firm is “getting selective as valuations look stretched.” After a “banner year” for financials, Wolfe is most positive on names with secular growth stories and exposure to “Trump tailwinds,” the analyst said.
ANALYST SEES BITCOIN REACHING $225K: On Thursday, H.C. Wainwright analyst estimated the crypto sector heading into 2025. It estimates total market cap for the bitcoin miners will exceed $100B in 2025 and expects pure-plays to outperform. Mining stocks will once again outperform bitcoin in 2025, as fundamentals continue to improve for the group alongside rising prices, the firm contended. H.C. Wainwright lists Mara (MARA), Riot (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK) as the pure-play miners. It views Core Scientific, Bitdeer (BTDR), TeraWulf (WULF), Hut 8 (HUT), IREN (IREN), Bit Digital and Hive Digital (HIVE) as hybrid miners
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