Key Takeaways

• Bitcoin remains stuck in the $57,000 range. JPMorgan says bitcoin's negative price trend will reverse in August.

• Analysts backed Iris Energy 's shares a day after they were pulled down by a short seller's report.

• U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have been buying this week.

Bitcoin's price has been stuck.

Despite gaining briefly after better-than-expected consumer inflation data or Fed commentary this week, it has recently been back in the range of around $57,000. Analysts at JPMorgan say the cryptocurrency may overcome its price inertia in August.

Meanwhile, the leading cryptocurrently recently traded a bit above $58,000, up slightly over the past 24 hours.

Why Is Bitcoin's Price Stuck?

It appears that demand and supply pressures are canceling each other out.

The German government has continued to sell bitcoin, though it is beginning to wind down those sales. It still holds 3,846 bitcoin (worth about $222 million) on the blockchain; however, the European nation has transferred out roughly $3 billion worth of the cryptocurrency since early June, according to Arkham Intelligence data. Coinbase Germany Managing Director Jan Sell told DL News that the amount of bitcoin they've sold as part of Germany's liquidation process is not a large amount compared to normal volumes.

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been buying, with roughly $79 million flowing into the financial products on Thursday, according to Farside Investors. That brought the week's inflows to above $737 million.

Recent news-driven downward price pressure on bitcoin is almost over, JPMorgan analysts reportedly wrote, suggesting that prices could recover next month.

Bitcoin-Related Stocks in Focus

MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock continued its uptrend a day after announcing a 10-for-1 stock split, rising roughly 5% in recent trading Friday.

Shares in bitcoin miner Iris Energy (IREN) rose 10% in early trading, with The Block reporting that analysts at Bernstein came to its defense after a report from a short seller. Iris shares fell 13% Thursday after Culper Research said the company was worth far less than its current valuation.

Shares of Block (SQ) were up almost 3% after Bernstein analysts pegged the value of the company's deal to provide mining hardware to Core Scientific (CORZ) at approximately $300 million. Core's shares were recently up more than 2%.

SEC Willing To Ease Stance On Crypto Custody

On the regulatory front, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is poised to allow exceptions to its SAB 121 guidance, according to Bloomberg Law. The rule in question, which pertains to custody of crypto assets on behalf of clients, is seen as restrictive for traditional finance firms, and a change in the SEC's stance could aid wider adoption of crypto assets.

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