STEP INTO THE WORLD OF CRYPTO ASSETS

Bitcoin (BTC) investors who bought BTC in 2020 or later are still waiting for higher prices, new research says.

In findings published on X on April 1, onchain analytics firm Glassnode revealed that $110,000 was not high enough to make many hodlers sell.

Glassnode: 2020 Bitcoin buyers “still holding”

Bitcoiners who entered the market between three and five years ago have retained their holdings despite significant BTC price upside.

According to Glassnode, this investor cohort, with a cost basis between the 2020 lows of $3,600 and the 2021 highs of $69,000, is still hodling.

“Although the share of wealth held by investors who bought $BTC 3–5 years ago has declined by 3 percentage points since its November 2024 peak, it remains at historically elevated levels,” it said.

“This suggests that the majority of investors who entered between 2020 and 2022 are still holding.”

An accompanying chart shows data from the Realized Cap HODL Waves metric, which splits the BTC supply into sections based on when each coin last moved onchain.

Using this, Glassnode is able to draw a distinction between the 2020-22 buyers and those who came immediately before them.

“In contrast, over two-thirds of those who had bought $BTC 5–7 years ago exited their positions by the December 2024 peak,” it reveals, reflecting their lower cost basis.

Speculators stay cool at BTC price highs

As Cointelegraph reported, more recent buyers, who form the more speculative investor cohort known as short-term holders (STHs), have proven much more sensitive to recent BTC price volatility.

Related: Bitcoin sellers 'dry up' as weekly exchange inflows near 2-year low

Episodes of panic selling have occurred throughout the past six months as BTC/USD hit new record highs and then fell by up to 30%.

Continuing, Glassnode said that current STH participation does not suggest a speculative frenzy — something common to previous BTC price cycle tops.

“Short-Term Holders currently hold around 40% of Bitcoin's network wealth, after peaking near 50% earlier in 2025,” it said, alongside Realized Cap HODL Waves data on March 31. 

“This remains significantly below prior cycle tops, where new investor wealth peaked at 70–90%, suggesting a more tempered and distributed bull market so far.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The online store of a Singapore-based subsidiary of Japanese tech behemoth Sony is now accepting USDC payments through Crypto.com.

According to an April 2 announcement, Sony Electronics Singapore now accepts USDC (USDC) stablecoin payments through an integration with the Crypto.com exchange. Crypto.com Singapore general manager Chin Tah Ang said:

“We’re pushing to make paying in crypto more mainstream and partnering with a well-established and forward-thinking brand like Sony Electronics Singapore further raises awareness of how simple it can be to pay for everyday goods and services using crypto.”

This is far from the only high-profile partnership that Crypto.com has been recently able to score. At the end of 2024, the mobile-first crypto exchange partnered with Deutsche Bank to provide corporate banking services across Asian-Pacific markets, covering regions such as Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Related: CFTC mulling probe of Crypto.com over Super Bowl contracts: Report

Singapore bets on stablecoins

The Singaporean Sony subsidiary allowing stablecoin payments may be the start of a new trend in the region. Late February reports indicate that Metro, a publicly listed department store chain in Singapore, has enabled its customers to pay for products using stablecoins like Tether’s USDt.

The initiatives also follow January reports that Singapore is becoming a key destination for Web3 companies after it issued twice as many crypto licenses in 2024 as in the previous year. William Croisettier, chief growth officer of ZKcandy, told Cointelegraph at the time:

“The country adopts a risk-adjusted approach to crypto regulation, focusing on the biggest digital currencies to protect investors. Singapore also makes it easy for new crypto firms to interact with local banking partners, a provision considered a luxury in other parts of the world.”

Related: Singapore Exchange to list Bitcoin futures in H2 2025: Report

An emerging crypto hub

In late November, the crypto-friendly digital bank Singapore Gulf Bank reportedly sought a fund injection of at least $50 million as it plans to acquire a stablecoin payments company in 2025. The firm was motivated to pursue the effort, with alleged plans to sell up to 10% of its equity to fund it.

A study published at the end of 2024 revealed that its approach to regulation made Singapore a global champion of blockchain technology. The country scored the highest among all considered jurisdictions based on multiple factors.

Magazine: Singapore ‘not ready’ for Bitcoin ETFs, sneaky crypto mining rig importer: Asia Express

Video game retailer GameStop Corporation (GME) has finished a convertible debt offering that raised $1.5 billion, with some proceeds earmarked for buying Bitcoin.

The offering was initially set to raise at least $1.3 billion, but purchasers opted for an additional $200 million aggregate principal amount of notes, GameStop said in an April 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"The company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin in a manner consistent with the Company's Investment Policy," GameStop added.

The convertible notes are debt that can later be converted into equity and are scheduled to mature on April 1, 2030, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.

The conversion rate for the notes will initially be 33 shares of Common Stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, according to the filing. 

GameStop shares didn’t see a significant move following the close of the convertible debt offering. GME closed the April 1 trading day up 1.34% at $22.61 and only saw an extra 0.5% bump after the bell, Google Finance data shows.

Positive shareholder sentiment saw the stock jump nearly 12% to $28.36 on March 26, the day after GameStop announced its Bitcoin (BTC) plan, but its fortunes reversed the next day, with GME shares dropping nearly 24% to $21.68.

Analysts at the time suggested the chilly reception reflected shareholders' fear of GameStop's deeper problems with its business model. 

GameStop joins growing Bitcoin move 

On March 25, GameStop confirmed that it had received board approval to invest in Bitcoin and US-dollar-pegged stablecoins using the notes and its cash reserves. Those reserves stood at $4.77 billion as of Feb. 1, compared with $921.7 million a year earlier, according to its 2024 fourth-quarter financial statements. 

GameStop is a relative latecomer among public companies creating Bitcoin treasuries. A slew of others have already added Bitcoin to their balance sheets in a playbook popularized by Micheal Saylor’s Strategy.

Related: Metaplanet adds $67M in Bitcoin following 10-to-1 stock split

The video game retailer previously made forays into the crypto space with a crypto wallet for its users, which it eventually shut down in November 2023 due to regulatory uncertainty.

GameStop is also considered the first example of meme stock success after a short squeeze in 2021 that sent the stock surging over 1,000% in a month as traders flipped the table on hedge funds that had been making money shorting on the company.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered