Retail company GameStop (GME) has announced plans to raise up to $1.3 billion to buy Bitcoin for its treasury. This comes just a day after the company announced BTC’s addition to its treasury reserve holdings. Meanwhile, the GME stock price has dropped following this announcement.
GameStop To Raise $1.3 Billion To Buy Bitcoin
In a press release, GameStop revealed plans to raise up to $1.3 billion to buy Bitcoin. The company announced that it intends to offer $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount of 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2030 in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers.
Furthermore, the retailer company also intends to grant the initial purchasers of the notes an option to purchase, within a 13-day period beginning on and including the date on which the notes are first issued, up to an additional $200 million aggregate principal amount of notes.
GameStop stated that it expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including acquiring Bitcoin in a manner consistent with the company’s Investment Policy. This move comes just a day after the company updated its investment policy to add BTC as a treasury reserve after the board’s approval.
MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor commented on this move. In an X post, he raised a poll, questioning the minimum amount of Bitcoin GME needs to buy to be respected by Bitcoiners. Interestingly, the company looks to be adopting MicroStrategy’s model of raising funds to buy Bitcoin through stock offerings.
The company has a lot of catching up to do to match MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin stack. Saylor’s company recently purchased 6,911 Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 506,137 BTC. Meanwhile,
GME Stock Drops Over 6%
MarketWatch data shows that GameStop’s stock has dropped over 6% amid the company’s plans to offer its convertible notes. The GME stock had surged over 30% between yesterday’s announcement and the early hours of trading today.
However, this drop has occurred amid concerns that the offering of these notes could lead to a dilution of existing shares. The stock price could still surge in the long term, especially considering how MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Strategy has positively impacted the MSTR stock price.
Ethereum’s torrid patch is extending into Q2 of 2025, forcing industry players to wade into proffer advice for the largest altcoin. Bankless confounder David Hoffman says a change in network culture will have the biggest impact on the Ethereum price performance.
David Hoffman Wants Ethereum Community To Stop Policing Behaviour
Bankless cofounder David Hoffman has revealed suggestions to improve Ethereum price performance, pointing to a culture and leadership shift in the network. According to an X post, Hoffman says mainstream Ethereum critics are sidestepping the real reason for ETH’s lackluster price performance in recent months.
Hoffman notes that Ethereum’s leadership and its culture of alienating users and builders is to blame for its underwhelming performance. The cryptocurrency executive cited the public exorcism of ETH staking platform Lido Finance and criticism against degenerate traders.
At the time, Lido Finance came under fire from the Ethereum community for regulatory, centralization, and security concerns while degens took flak for spiking gas fees and lack of long-term projects.
He argues that the broad hostility against a class of users plays a big role in the Ethereum price decline. Hoffman notes that the network’s attempt to police behavior on a permissionless chain is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Ethereum price is hanging onto the $1,500 mark after sinking to lows of $1,415 over the last week.
To remedy the situation, David Hoffman is advocating for the Ethereum Foundation (EF) to attract users and builders to the network, demonstrating the spirit of true decentralization.
“If we want ETH to group, the EF and broader community need to start attracting users and builders, not pushing them away with a holier-than-thou culture,” said Hoffman.
Ethereum Price Is Staging A Strong Recovery
Hoffman’s comments come amid a fresh market resurgence for Ethereum price with ETH grabbing a 6% spike over the last day. While ETH price has declined to a 5-year low against Bitcoin, momentum is rising for prices to reclaim $2,000.
One side, backed by community members like Leo Glisic sees a potential upside for Ethereum, driven by a simple investment narrative.
“The play is infrastructure for the future global financial system,” said Glisic. “Ethereum will serve as the settlement and interoperability layer, which is a winner-take-all market.”
However, CryptoCurb is comparing Ethereum to Nokia’s downfall, noting that Solana will displace ETH like Apple to become the largest altcoin. Critics like CryptoCurb and Peter Schiff say the rally is unsustainable and an ETH decline below $1,000 is a possibility.
Bitcoin was once considered the dominant currency in illicit transactions. However, it is now being replaced by privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), Dash, and stablecoins.
The primary reason for Bitcoin’s decline in illegal activities is its transparency.
Reasons for the Shift from Bitcoin to Privacy Coins
Bitcoin (BTC) once dominated illicit activities on the Dark Web, such as Nucleus Marketplace or Brian’s Club. The report from TRM Labs indicated that Bitcoin accounted for 97% of the total cryptocurrency volume associated with illegal activities in 2016.
However, by 2022, this figure had dropped sharply to just 19%, indicating a significant shift toward other cryptocurrencies.
According to the TRM Labs’ report, illegal cryptocurrency activities involving Bitcoin will drop to just 12% by 2024. Tron (TRX) holds the top position with 58%. In another report from Chainalysis, stablecoins now account for the majority of total illicit transaction volume at 63%. The use of Bitcoin in illegal activities also recorded a significant decline.
Stablecoins gained 63% of illicit trading activity by 2024. Source: Chainalysis
White House Market, one of the largest Dark Web marketplaces, stopped accepting Bitcoin and exclusively used Monero (XMR) for transactions in 2020.
“The Bitcoin workaround was supposed to be there just to help with transition to XMR and as we are concerned, it’s done, therefore we are now Monero only, just as planned,” stated White House Market.
The decision was driven by Bitcoin’s limitations, particularly its blockchain transparency. This move reflected a strategic shift in Dark Web markets and highlighted the rise of privacy coins like Monero, which are designed to provide enhanced anonymity.
The Popularity of Privacy Coins on the Dark Web
The decline of Bitcoin in illegal activities is not coincidental but rather stems from its inherent limitations. First and foremost, Bitcoin’s blockchain is a public ledger. When combined with additional data such as IP addresses or exchange records, every transaction can be tracked.
This transparency has enabled law enforcement agencies like the FBI to use blockchain analytics tools from Chainalysis and Elliptic to dismantle major Dark Web markets. Examples include the Silk Road shutdown in 2013, AlphaBay in 2017, Hydra in 2022, and Incognito Market in 2024.
Additionally, Bitcoin faces technical challenges, including high transaction fees and slow confirmation times. In contrast, privacy coins like Monero, Zcash, and Dash leverage advanced technologies to ensure high levels of anonymity, making transaction tracking extremely difficult. The Research from ScienceDirect suggests that privacy coins are closely linked to Dark Web traffic, further increasing their popularity in illicit markets.
The Two Sides of the Shift to Privacy Coins
On the positive side, Bitcoin’s declining role in illegal activities may improve its reputation as a legitimate financial tool. This could lead to wider acceptance and attract more users and investors.
However, the shift from Bitcoin to privacy coins and stablecoins has made it more challenging for law enforcement agencies to track and prevent illegal transactions. Despite advanced blockchain analytics tools that can detect transaction trails through mixers and tumblers, dealing with Monero and other privacy coins remains a significant challenge.
Global regulators are increasingly scrutinizing privacy coins and stablecoins. Some countries have outright banned privacy coins, while stablecoins are subjected to stricter oversight.
The transition from Bitcoin to privacy coins and stablecoins on the Dark Web is a clear trend, driven by the growing demand for anonymity and efficiency in illicit transactions. While Bitcoin still plays a role in certain crypto-related crimes, its transparency makes it less attractive to the Dark Web.
Meanwhile, Monero, Zcash, Dash, and stablecoins have become the preferred choices due to their enhanced security and privacy. This trend poses significant challenges for law enforcement agencies while driving advancements in blockchain analytics tools.
However, it also raises concerns about using cryptocurrencies in illegal activities, necessitating a balance between technological innovation and regulatory oversight to ensure transparency and security in the digital financial ecosystem.
The meme coin market is bouncing back after Trump stopped plans to raise tariffs and new inflation data showed signs of slowing down. This positive news helped Bitcoin move closer to $85,000, which triggered buying interest in popular meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. Still, both DOGE and SHIB are having trouble breaking past key price levels, which means there could be a short-term dip before any further gains.
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Face Boost in OI
The recent price jump in DOGE and SHIB has led to a rise in open interest, which means more traders are entering the market. According to Coinglass, Dogecoin’s open interest went up by about 3.2%, hitting around $1.57 billion. Meanwhile, SHIB’s open interest saw a smaller increase of 0.05%, reaching over $120 million.
However, the increased price swings and a growing number of short trades near key resistance levels for Dogecoin and Shiba Inu could lead to uncertainty and mixed signals on their price charts.
Dogecoin Price Analysis
Dogecoin is having trouble breaking clearly above the $0.17 resistance level. Right now, buyers are mostly in control and pushing the price higher, but there are signs that sellers could step in soon and push DOGE below the 23.6% Fibonacci level. At the moment, Dogecoin is trading at $0.165, up over 2% in the past 24 hours.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is sitting at 58, which suggests there’s still strong buying momentum. If buyers continue to push, DOGE could climb toward the $0.2 resistance level. Breaking past that might boost market confidence and even lead to a rally toward $0.25.
On the flip side, if DOGE can’t hold above the rising support line, it could start to drop, potentially falling to around $0.13. If it breaks below that, it could trigger more selling and strengthen the bearish trend.
Shiba Inu Price Analysis
Right now, Shiba Inu is struggling to break past the immediate resistance at $0.000013. Because of this, sellers are keeping the price stuck in a tight range, preventing any big upward moves. At the moment, SHIB is trading at $0.0000122, up just over 0.5% in the past 24 hours.
Even with some bearish pressure, buyers are still trying to push the price higher, showing there’s solid interest from the bulls. However, sellers are strongly defending against any breakout. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 56, slightly above the midpoint, which suggests buyers might gain the upper hand soon.
If buyers manage to break above the $0.000013 resistance, SHIB could head toward the next target at $0.0000157. On the other hand, if selling pressure increases and the price drops below the 20-day EMA support, SHIB could fall further, possibly down to around $0.0000102.
The post Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Face Tough Resistance: Can Bulls Push for a Breakout? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
The meme coin market is bouncing back after Trump stopped plans to raise tariffs and new inflation data showed signs of slowing down. This positive news helped Bitcoin move closer to $85,000, which triggered buying interest in popular meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. Still, both DOGE and SHIB are having trouble breaking past …
