Bitcoin remained lower on Tuesday, trimming its recent recovery as progress toward ending the U.S. government shutdown and further buying by its largest strategic institutional holder failed to support prices.
The world's largest cryptocurrency fell 0.7% to $105,355.6 by 8:25 AM Saudi time.
Bitcoin did not react much to the progress of ending the lockdown and strategic buying.
Bitcoin fell despite a broader boost to risk appetite following the US Senate's approval of a bill aimed at ending the government shutdown in the world's largest economy.
The bill will now be considered by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, with the Republican majority in the House indicating that it will approve the measure.
However, this news provided limited support for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency markets, as investors overwhelmingly preferred other risk-driven assets, particularly equities. The rally in tech stocks also attracted more capital into equities rather than cryptocurrencies this week.
Bitcoin didn't react much to the announcement by Strategy& (NASDAQ:MSTR), the world's largest institutional holder, that it had purchased 487 coins this week. The purchase brought Strategy&'s total Bitcoin holdings to 641,692 coins.
Short seller Jim Chanos closes his position in the strategy
Short seller Jim Chanos, who famously shorted Enron shares before its collapse in 2001, said that over the weekend he canceled his short position in Strategie as the company's stock fell to levels that matched the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
Chanos' short position in the stock originated primarily from a strategic trade at a significant premium to its Bitcoin holdings. However, following a prolonged decline in the stock over the past month, the investment manager is now unwinding his position, he said.
Chanos said in a social media post that the firm’s multiple of the enterprise value to Bitcoin net asset value (mNAV) ratio has effectively halved this year to 1.23 times, from a peak of 2.50 times, when he first disclosed his short position.
Chanos also pointed out that there is still room for further devaluation in the strategy.
Strategie's Class A shares are trading down 20.4% so far in 2025, as investors increasingly question the company's premium over the value of its Bitcoin holdings.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins are fluctuating with Bitcoin
Prices for the broader cryptocurrency market have moved within a stable to low range, amid a lack of direct positive catalysts for the sector. Bitcoin's weakness has also spilled over into other cryptocurrencies.
The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, fell 1.6% to $3,549.22, while XRP rose 0.9% to $2.4739.
Solana and Cardano each lost more than 1%, while BNB fell by 2.4%.
Among the meme symbols, Dogecoin fell by 1.5%, while TRUMP$ rose by 4.2%.
