Investing.com-- Bitcoin moved moderately higher on Friday but was headed for a muted weekly performance as skittish risk appetite, amid concerns over U.S. trade tariffs and sticky inflation, kept demand for crypto limited.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies took little support from reports suggesting that meme stock major GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) will begin investing in the sector.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency climbed 1.2% to $97,197.0 by 10:10 ET (15:10 GMT), and was also headed for a muted weekly performance.
Gamestop to consider investing in Bitcoin, crypto- CNBC
CNBC reported on Thursday that Gamestop- the original meme stock- was considering investing some of its cash holdings into crypto.
While Gamestop’s shares did rise sharply on the news, this optimism did not translate into crypto prices.
The company had a cash balance of around $4.62 billion as of the end of the third quarter in 2024, where it also swung to a net income from a net loss in the prior year. It was not immediately clear just how much cash the company planned to deploy into crypto.
Gamestop is struggling to diversify from its core game retailing business, amid prolonged and intense competition from online game retailers.
Last week, Gamestop CEO Ryan Cohen posted a photo of him with Microstrategy’s Michael Saylor. Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) is the largest listed holder of Bitcoin.
Gamestop has forayed into crypto in the past. The company had briefly launched an online marketplace for non-fungible tokens, but wound down the service in less than two years on waning popularity of NFTs, as well as a prolonged price crash in the sector.
The company had also offered crypto wallet services, which it suspended citing concerns over regulatory uncertainty.
Crypto regulations in the U.S. are expected to improve under President Donald Trump, who signed executive orders to establish a regulatory framework for the industry.
Barclays (LON:BARC) discloses $131mn position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)'s BTC ETF
Meanwhile, investment banking giant Barclays disclosed holding 2.47 million shares of BlackRock’s U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), valued at $131.2 million, according to its latest 13F filing with the SEC.
This represents a new position acquired in the fourth quarter of 2024, including the post-election period when pro-crypto Donald Trump secured a second presidential term.
Barclays previously held a small position in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) in Q3 2024, which it no longer owns.
Despite the sizeable IBIT investment, it accounts for just 0.04% of Barclays’ $356.9 billion portfolio as of Dec. 31.
The bank’s Q4 acquisition places it among the top 10 holders of IBIT, with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) leading as the largest institutional investor, holding over 24 million IBIT shares worth $1.3 billion, along with $294 million in Fidelity’s FBTC, bringing its total Bitcoin ETF investments to over $1.6 billion.
Crypto price today: altcoins rise, XRP soars sharply on ETF developments
Broader crypto prices were mainly higher on Friday, but like Bitcoin, outsized gains were limited amid constrained risk appetite in crypto markets.
World no.2 crypto Ether added roughly 4% to $2,713.25, while XRP surged over 12% to $2.72, boosted by the news that the SEC has set itself a deadline to decide whether it will give a green light for an XRP ETF.
Solana, Cardano, and Polygon rose between 2% and 6%, while among meme coins, Dogecoin jumped 7%, while $TRUMP jumped 28% in an extended recovery from record lows.
Crypto markets largely ducked an overnight rally in U.S. stocks, amid relief over Trump postponing plans to impose reciprocal tariffs against major U.S. trading partners.
But Trump’s rhetoric on stricter tariffs, as well as his imposition of 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports, had spurred steep losses in crypto over the past week.
Crypto prices were also pressured by U.S. producer and consumer inflation data reading higher than expected for January, which spurred bets that interest rates will remain steady in the coming months.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.