Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is in the spotlight as President-elect Trump reportedly considers crypto enthusiast Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The cryptocurrency is retreating after a spike when South Korea declared martial law, only to lift it hours later. Kraken head of strategy Thomas Perfumo joins Seana Smith and Madison Mills on Catalysts to discuss bitcoin's role in investors' portfolios amid global political turmoil heading into Trump's second term in the White House.
“A geopolitical event happening and bitcoin trading up or down doesn't necessarily confirm to me that it's reacting to that news. Specifically, when I think about bitcoin's movements more recently, it's strongly tied to net capital inflows,” says Perfumo. says, explaining: “I look at ETF flows. I look at any kind of buying activity coming out of MicroStrategy (MSTR) … as well as options activity on [the iShares Bitcoin Trust] IBIT itself has gained momentum since its launch a few weeks ago.”
He notes, “To me, these are kind of accelerators of big price action moves,” adding, “When it comes to geopolitical events, you really have to look at the relative activity versus other macro markets.” Perfumo says: “What I saw more with respect to that event was more of a de-risking of risky assets in general, rather than crypto reacting to that event in a specific way.”
“I think the long-term trend that really speaks to crypto, at least over the next few years, is about a pro-innovation agenda and what crypto can bring to that.”
For more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here.
This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.
