Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream announced a $210 million funding round. Fulgur Ventures led this substantial cash inflow, which will primarily focus on Layer-2 Bitcoin Development.

Blockstream will also allocate some of these funds towards mining infrastructure and direct Bitcoin purchases, but according to its press releases, these goals appear secondary.

Blockstream’s Fundraising Rally

Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream announced an end to its most recent convertible note financing round on October 15. This fundraising round, led by Fulgur Ventures, raised a total of $210 million. These new funds will primarily go towards Layer-2 (L2) development, mining infrastructure improvements, and direct Bitcoin purchases.

“This fundraise is pivotal in our journey to bridge Bitcoin with broader finance. We’re excited to bring on Michael Minkevich as COO, and to have Fulgur Ventures’ support in advancing Bitcoin finance,” said CEO Adam Back via social media.

Read More: Layer-2 Crypto Projects for 2024: The Top Picks

Blockstream first opened its operations in 2014. The firm has remained fairly under the radar as of late, but several points have raised Blockstream’s notoriety. For example, Back was prominently featured as a “key crypto figure” interviewed in the recent HBO documentary to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto.

Additionally, this was not Blockstream’s only major fundraising drive in the second half of 2024. The firm opened a series three funding round for its BMN2 security token in September after raising $7 million in a previous round this July. This round, however, is substantially larger, and the partnership with Fulgur suggests a particular focus on L2 technology.

“We believe in Bitcoin as a next generation politically neutral monetary system, the foundation for decentralized finance of the future. While Bitcoin is an efficient settlement layer, it needs a Layer-2 solution for everyday transactions,” claims Fulgur’s website.

Blockstream’s two L2 solutions, Liquid and Greenlight have slightly different specialties, but both are interoperable with Lightning Network. Liquid alone boasts $1.8 billion in assets issued, and Greenlight runs over 150 thousand live Lightning nodes.

Read More: Beginner’s Tutorial to Start Using the Lightning Network

Although Blockstream mentioned two additional goals, mining infrastructure, and direct Bitcoin purchases, its press release sparsely mentions these secondary goals. So far, all of Blockstream’s media announcements have painted these L2 projects as the main focus. Any specifics on the firm’s secondary goals remain elusive.

Additionally, BeInCrypto reported that Bitcoin L2 solutions have attracted large amounts of funding lately. The L2 projects collectively raised $94.6 million in Q2 2024.

The crypto community is abuzz with rumors following Tesla’s transfer of a significant portion of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings. Over 11,500 BTC were shifted from wallets associated with the electric car giant to unknown addresses, sparking concerns about a possible sell-off.

Despite these transactions, there is no clear indication that Tesla plans to liquidate its holdings. According to Arkham, the recipient wallets are newly created and unlinked to any crypto exchanges, hinting that these movements might be strategic.

Did Tesla Sell Bitcoin Over the Counter?

The Bitcoin in question, valued at approximately $760 million, almost emptied Tesla’s crypto reserves, leaving just around $8 in their original wallets. This activity follows two years of minimal movement.

Historically, Tesla’s engagement with Bitcoin has had various ups and downs. Initially purchasing $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in 2020, the electric car company sold about 10% in early 2021. By July 2022, it had offloaded about 75% of its remaining Bitcoin as market values tumbled from their peak in November 2021.

Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin in 2024?

Currently, Tesla remains the fourth-largest Bitcoin holder among publicly traded US companies. Only MicroStrategy and the mining firms Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Platforms hold more.

The nature of Tesla’s recent transactions suggests they might be preparing for an over-the-counter (OTC) deal. However, others also believe that this development is not completely bearish.

“No proof it’s an OTC deal yet. Even if it was, that means someone else bought it so it’s not entirely bearish. Who knows,” Sir Doge of the Coin said.

Tesla’s involvement with Bitcoin extends beyond buying and selling. In 2021, it accepted Bitcoin payments for its vehicles for a brief period.

However, it reversed this decision two months later, citing the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining. CEO Elon Musk has indicated that Tesla might accept Bitcoin again if mining becomes more environmentally friendly.

Despite initial market jitters, Bitcoin’s price remains steady, currently around $67,000. This resilience is buoyed by substantial inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Read more: How To Trade a Bitcoin ETF: A Step-by-Step Approach

On the day Tesla moved its Bitcoin, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows totaling $371 million. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust alone garnered $288.84 million, indicating a strong investor appetite.

This inflow underpins the continued confidence in Bitcoin’s value proposition despite potential market fluctuations prompted by major players like Tesla.

The Bitcoin price started this week on a high in what was an unprecedented move for many market participants. After spending the early days of October to disappoint investors, the Bitcoin price banged over $66,000 for the first time in many weeks. 

Interestingly, this price action has seen the Bitcoin price once again approaching a critical technical level with the 200-day moving average. Historically, breaking above this key indicator has signaled the start of explosive rallies, often resulting in parabolic price increases. The question now is can Bitcoin repeat this historical pattern and ignite another massive surge?

Bitcoin Price Approaches The 200-MA. What Does This Mean?

The 200-day moving average provides a clear view of an asset in the long term. A break above the 200-day moving average suggests the cryptocurrency is now trading for a positive difference compared to an average over 200 days. For Bitcoin in particular, this indicator has often served as a tipping point between bullish and bearish sentiment for its price.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted that in the past, Bitcoin’s price break above the 200-day moving average has consistently marked the onset of parabolic bull runs. The last three times the Bitcoin price broke above the 200-day moving average each kickstarted parabolic bull runs. The first time was in 2016, which saw Bitcoin continue on a 7,513% increase that lasted for almost two years. 

Again, in 2021, Bitcoin’s price crossed above the 200-day moving average for the second time, which led to a 705% price increase that peaked in April 2021. Most recently in 2023, Bitcoin’s price broke above the 200-MA for the third time, sparking yet another significant price rally. This time, Bitcoin saw a 275% increase from its breakout level.

These previous instances show the importance of the 200-day moving average for bullish price action. Recent price action has seen the Bitcoin price break slightly above the 200-day moving average again, which is currently situated around $65,844. Consequently, this price point has now become a major point of interest for both bullish and bearish traders. 

What’s Next For BTC Price?

The Bitcoin price reached as high as $66,000 in the past 24 hours, although it has retraced a bit and is now trading just below. A reconfirmation above the $66,000 would finally cause a break above the 200-day moving average and potentially kickstart another bull rally. 

As Bitcoin attempts to break above this key level, all eyes are on whether it can replicate the parabolic moves seen in previous cycles. However, the price returns have each reduced time in the last three breakouts. 

Nonetheless, even a return between 100% and 150% would translate to a price target between $132,000 and $165,000 from the current price. Bitcoin could also easily break out of the 200-day moving average and reach these price points quickly, especially with growing institutional inflows through Spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com