Bitcoin Climbs After Trump Voices Support for Crypto

Bitcoin swung sharply on Monday, sliding early before recovering after U.S. President Donald Trump said he is a "strong supporter of crypto." The token was last trading at $63,624.44, up about 1.5% on the day, after earlier falling more than 2% and nearing $60,000. The initial selloff followed fresh attention on Strategy's latest regulatory filing, which showed the company sold bitcoin in multiple transactions totaling about $216 million. Strategy sold roughly $80.8 million of bitcoin between June 29 and 30 at an average price of $59,256 per coin. It then sold an additional $135.5 million from July 1 to 5. The sales mark Strategy's second reduction of bitcoin holdings this year, further moving away from its long-held "never sell Bitcoin" stance. In May, the company adopted a policy allowing partial sales for capital allocation. On June 1, it disclosed selling more than $2 million of bitcoin, its first reported sale since 2022. Market sentiment later improved after Trump's remarks at a press conference, where he was asked whether a newly launched child-focused savings vehicle known as the "Trump account" would include bitcoin. The account is described as a 503A tax-advantaged structure intended for long-term savings for children and is currently positioned primarily for broad-based U.S. stock market ETFs. Despite the recent sales, Strategy remains one of the largest corporate holders. The company reported holdings of 843,775 bitcoins, valued at about $52.1 billion at the stated price, with an average cost basis of $75,476 per bitcoin. Barclays analysts said Strategy's prior investment narrative leaned heavily on a public pledge not to sell, so even limited disposals could weigh on sentiment. Since the policy change, bitcoin has mostly traded between $60,000 and $70,000, dipping to around $59,000 on June 24, its lowest level since October 2024. Cantor took a different view, arguing the sales may be aimed at supporting the performance of Strategy's preferred shares rather than signaling a negative outlook for bitcoin. The firm said Strategy must balance the interests of preferred shareholders, common shareholders and bitcoin investors, and that protecting one group could come at the expense of the other two.