Bitcoin holds gains close to $97,000 as Strategy doubles bet on BTC

• Bitcoin steadies close to the $97,000 level even as traders continue to digest tariff-related economic uncertainty on Friday. 
• Most of the top 10 cryptocurrencies gain on Friday and crypto trader’s sentiment improves. 
• Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, raises its target to $15 billion in Bitcoin gains in 2025, says MSTR stock is a “Bitcoin shortcut”. 

Bitcoin (BTC) eyes return to the $100,000 milestone as trade-related economic uncertainty appears to be clearing up as Washington is signalling that trade deals are moving closer. The crypto market capitalization climbs above the $3.13 trillion mark on Friday, Bitcoin holds steady close to $97,000, and most of the top 10 cryptocurrencies flash green in terms of returns on the day. 

One of Bitcoin’s largest corporate holders, Strategy Inc., raised its target for gains from Bitcoin in 2025 in its Q1 earnings call. 

Bitcoin hovers near $97,000, is $100,000 next?

Bitcoin trades less than 5% away from $100,000 on Friday. The largest cryptocurrency made strides despite market uncertainty and sentiment among crypto traders improves. 

The crypto Fear & Greed Index signals “greed” among traders, swinging from Thursday’s “neutral” stance and signaling that sentiment is turning bullish. 

Crypto Fear & Greed Index | Source: Alternative.me

Bitcoin’s technical indicators are throwing mixed signals. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads 70, right in overbought territory. Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) flashes green histogram bars, meaning the underlying momentum in Bitcoin’s upward trend is positive. 

Traders need to watch the indicators carefully for potential signs of a trend reversal since RSI has crossed into the “overvalued” or “overbought” zone. Typically a drop from this zone could trigger a sell signal. MACD histogram bars are consecutively shorter as observed in the chart below.

BTC/USDT daily price chart 

A flash crash could send Bitcoin to test support at $91,935, the upper boundary of a Fair Value Gap (FVG) on the BTC/USDT daily price chart. 

Top 10 cryptos gain on Friday, trader sentiment bullish 

Barring Binance Coin (BNB) and Tron (TRX), nearly all cryptocurrencies in the top 10 gained in the last 24 hours, as seen on CoinGecko. Bitcoin’s rally to $97,000 pushed other assets higher alongside the top crypto. 

The performance of the top 10 cryptocurrencies is considered an indicator of the state of the crypto market. 

Top 10 cryptos price in 1 hour and 24 hours | Source: CoinGecko

Strategy doubles down on Bitcoin bet 

In its Q1 2025 earnings call, Strategy’s former CEO Michael Saylor announced that the business intelligence firm has pushed expectations for Bitcoin gains to $15 billion in 2025. Saylor explained how corporates look at MSTR stock as a “shortcut” to owning BTC. 

To back Saylor’s claims, MSTR stock has outperformed Bitcoin over a 12-month and a five-year period. Strategy currently holds nearly $50 billion worth of Bitcoin, a large stockpile, and competes with BTC as a “proxy”.

Saylor explained that Strategy, whose quarterly results missed Wall Street’s expectations by a wide margin, looks forward to raising $42 billion in debt to buy more BTC this year. 

With MSTR holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet, investors seeking exposure to the largest crypto token have the option to buy BTC directly, or choose between US-based Spot Bitcoin ETFs (that hold Bitcoin) or stocks of firms like MSTR (that brand themselves as a Bitcoin proxy and hold BTC on their balance sheet).

Saylor’s statements likely catalyzed the bullish sentiment among traders on Friday.