Bitcoin rose to near $45k as Russia mulled BTC for oil move

Bitcoin broke above key resistance levels to touch highs last seen in February, with the uptick buoyed by various macro factors.

Bitcoin has gained 10% this past week, climbing to its highest price level since it 24 February when it briefly traded above $45,000.

On Friday, the Bitcoin (BTC-USD) pair rallied over 4% in intraday gains to reach highs just above the $45k price point. The pair has since retreated but remains well-bid above $44,700 at the time of writing.

Do Kwon’s $3 billion BTC plan gives bulls legs

The leading cryptocurrency’s upside follows weeks of ranged trading, with relief rallied over the past month tempered by risk-off sentiment triggered around the Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of rising inflation on equities.

But according to GlobalBlock analyst Marcus Sotiriou, upside sentiment this week got legs from the hype around fresh accumulation by Terra Labs founder and CEO Do Kwon.

Kwon, who recently placed two bets worth $11 million on Terra (LUNA)’s price being higher than $90 by March next year, has unveiled a “$3 billion Bitcoin accumulation plan,”

do kwon: announces plans to acquire $3 billion dollars worth of #bitcoin in the immediate term

bitcoin magazine: 🦗🦗🦗

— udiverse🔺 (@udiWertheimer) March 19, 2022

Sotiriou points to Do Kwon and Terra’s Bitcoin reserve purchases as key to the buying pressure for BTC and Ethereum (ETH), which surged above $3,100 for the first time in weeks.

‘PetroBitcoin’ sentiment helps BTC climb to $45k

This week’s big jump above recent resistance and testing of $45,000 was also aided on Thursday by sentiment around Russia’s announcement that it would accept Bitcoin from ‘friendly’ countries for its oil and gas. These countries would also pay in their local currencies like the yuan or Turkish lira.

“Besides the bullish narrative behind Bitcoin being used as a stablecoin reserve asset, there are now talks of a Petro Bitcoin instead of a Petro Dollar,” Sotiriou noted in emailed comments.

He says this has probably added a fresh narrative to BTC’s price movement. Russia’s flip towards Bitcoin for oil and gas exports is an indication of the cryptocurrency’s ‘ideological malleability.’ It’s not just about Russia, but a broader promotion of the fact that crypto is “unstoppable.”

The big question, in Sotiriou’s view, is whether PetroBitcoin is poised to replace PetroDollar. Can nations begin pricing oil in Bitcoin and not the US dollar?

Bitcoin was up by more than 30% since the sell-off to lows of $33,000 soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BlackRock and Exxon news

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Thursday that the asset manager, the world’s largest with over $10 trillion in AUM, was considering crypto services for its clients. According to Fink, demand for crypto opportunities has increased among its clients, something he said the investment giant was looking at.

Elsewhere, Texas-based gas giant Exxon is mining Bitcoin using excess gas in a move that is set to see around “18 million cubic feet of gas” utilised to mine BTC every month. The gas, which would otherwise be flared off, is thus helping with environmentally-friendly mining.

Exxon’s Bitcoin mining operation is bullish for the cryptocurrency, Sotiriou said in a comment. He believes this is likely to bring on board many institutional investors, with Bitcoin’s market capitalisation of $845 “seems so undervalued to many.”