By Caleb Monroe
Bitcoin declined modestly on Thursday as persistent risk aversion gripped markets after the Federal Reserve struck a hawkish tone and the U.S. conducted fresh strikes on Iran. Cryptocurrency markets broadly moved lower, while corporate developments - notably upcoming results from Strategy Inc - have drawn investor focus.
Market moves
Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $64,043.8 by 02:05 ET (06:05 GMT). Broader digital-asset prices tracked Bitcoin downward for much of the session.
Strategy Inc. earnings and corporate Bitcoin holdings
Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the market close on Thursday. Consensus expectations referenced in trading commentary anticipate earnings per share of $0.79 on revenue of $122.93 million. However, market participants are likely to concentrate on the company's substantial Bitcoin reserve and how the firm has managed that position.
Earlier this year Strategy began selling portions of its Bitcoin stockpile for the first time in nearly four years. Given that Bitcoin has traded well below Strategy's average acquisition cost of $75,400, the company is expected to record a very large unrealized loss on its digital-asset holdings.
Strategy had already reported a major loss on its cryptocurrency portfolio over the previous two quarters. In the four weeks ahead of this earnings release the company made no Bitcoin purchases and instead sold shares to bolster cash reserves. Management has disclosed sales of some Bitcoin earlier in the year to meet rising capital and debt obligations. That reserve has been funded through a combination of debt and share issuances and currently amounts to 843,775 Bitcoin.
Investor attention will in particular be on any signals from Strategy's results about whether further asset sales are planned.
Monetary policy and geopolitical drivers
Bitcoin also remained under pressure after a Federal Reserve rate decision on Wednesday evening. While the Fed delivered an expected rate increase, at least three members of the central bank publicly called for an additional hike, reflecting concerns about sticky inflation. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated the bank's commitment to its 2% annual inflation goal but provided limited detail on the path to achieving that target, stoking investor concern that rates could rise again later in the year.
Higher interest rates tend to weigh on speculative and non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin, and the prospect of further tightening contributed to the risk-off tone.
At the same time, broader market risk aversion intensified after the U.S. launched another round of strikes on Iran late on Wednesday, which drew retaliatory attacks from Tehran. The U.S. action followed comments from U.S. President Donald Trump warning of severe response to recent attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East. Those developments pushed oil prices sharply higher, raising concerns that energy-driven inflation could prompt additional rate hikes from major central banks.
Altcoin performance
Altcoins largely mirrored Bitcoin's weakness. Ether fell 0.9% to $1,903.34, while XRP was down 1.2%. Solana and Cardano declined 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively. BNB bucked the trend with a 0.3% gain. Memecoins were mixed: Dogecoin fell 1.1%, while $TRUMP rose 1.2%.
Bottom line
Investors are weighing a mix of monetary-policy signals and geopolitical risk that is favoring caution across crypto markets. Strategy Inc.'s quarterly report will be watched closely for guidance on the corporate handling of a large Bitcoin position that has recently been reduced to meet funding needs.