CKB Rallies After BTC Client Release, MicroStrategy Pivots to Bitcoin Development

Stock markets are down, and bond yields are up following a January report showing U.S. consumer prices rising unexpectedly. Headline and core CPI saw year-on-year increases of 3.1% and 3.9%, surpassing the forecasted 2.9% and 3.7%. This higher inflation may dampen the anticipation of Federal Reserve rate reductions, with market participants currently foreseeing a 37% likelihood of a cut in May. Yesterday, Bitcoin surpassed the $50,000 mark for the first time since December 2021, although its value slightly declined to $48,600 following the inflation news release. On Monday, BTC ETF flows quickly reached half of the $1.1 billion inflows CoinShares reported last week. The eight Bitcoin ETFs acquired 12,073 Bitcoins ($590 million), while Grayscale saw a minor reduction of 1,147 Bitcoins ($56 million). Blackrock and Fidelity added 7,497 Bitcoins ($366.5 million) and 3,039 Bitcoins ($148.5 million). Currently, Bitcoin ranks as the world’s 10th largest asset by market cap, nearing a $1 trillion valuation. Since October 2023, financial markets have been trending higher, with the S&P index climbing 18% from late October, while Bitcoin, being more volatile, has surged over 60% in the same timeframe, boosting its market cap in comparison to other asset categories.