Despite strong institutional demand, Bitcoin (BTC) has struggled to reclaim the $100,000 level for the past 50 days, leading investors to question the reasons behind the bearishness despite a seemingly positive environment.
This price weakness is particularly intriguing given the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve executive order issued by President Donald Trump on March 6, which allows BTC acquisitions as long as they follow “budget-neutral” strategies.
Bitcoin fails to keep up with gold’s returns despite positive news flow
On March 26, GameStop Corporation (GME), the North American video game and consumer electronics retailer, announced plans to allocate a portion of its corporate reserves to Bitcoin. The company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2021, successfully capitalized on a historic short squeeze and managed to secure an impressive $4.77 billion in cash and equivalents by February 2025.
Largest corporate Bitcoin holdings. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET
A growing number of US-based and international companies have followed Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) playbook, including the Japanese firm Metaplanet, which recently appointed Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, to its newly established strategic board of advisers. Similarly, the mining conglomerate MARA Holdings (MARA) adopted a Bitcoin treasury policy to “retain all BTC” and increase its exposure through debt offerings.
There must be a strong reason for Bitcoin investors to sell their holdings, especially as gold is trading just 1.3% below its all-time high of $3,057. For example, while the US administration adopted a pro-crypto stance following Trump’s election, the infrastructure needed for Bitcoin to serve as collateral and integrate into traditional financial systems remains largely undeveloped.
Bitcoin/USD (orange) vs. gold / S&P 500 index. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph
The US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is limited to cash settlement, preventing in-kind deposits and withdrawals. Fortunately, a potential rule change, currently under review by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, could reduce capital…
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