Bitcoin price today: hovers around $115k amid rate cut bets, but caution remains

Investing.com-- Bitcoin edged higher on Friday, tracking the broader advance in risk-driven markets amid persistent bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week. 

But gains in crypto, especially Bitcoin, were held back by increasing doubts over the viability of corporate Bitcoin treasuries, after top holder Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR)) was rejected from inclusion in the S&P 500 earlier this month. 

Bitcoin remained largely rangebound below $120,000. 

The world’s largest crypto added 0.3% to $114,990 by 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT). The coin was trading up 3.5% this week, seeing some buying after tumbling from mid-August record highs.

MicroStrategy S&P 500 snub is a blow to crypto treasuries- JPM 

JPMorgan said the S&P 500 index committee’s rejection of Strategy from inclusion was a major setback for corporate crypto treasuries. 

“This is signalling that the committee… is concerned about including in the S&P 500 index companies such as MicroStrategy that are effectively bitcoin funds,” JPM analysts wrote in a note this week. 

Strategy’s sharp rise in valuation– on its Bitcoin exposure– saw its addition to several other indices, including the Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 over the past year. This in turn invited more buying into the firm’s shares, as index fund operators adjusted their holdings accordingly. 

But this trend may now be “reaching its limits,” JPM said, adding that the rejection also came amid overcrowding and investor fatigue in the corporate treasury sector. This in turn raised more questions about the long-term sustainability of Strategy’s model.

While Strategy’s common stock vastly outperformed Bitcoin in 2024, this has not been the case so far in 2025. Strategy is trading up about 8.6% year-to-date, compared to a nearly 24% increase in Bitcoin.

The company is the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin with over 600,000 coins in its treasury. 

Gemini raises $425 million in Nasdaq debut

Gemini raised $425 million in its initial public offering, selling 15.18 million Class A shares at $28 apiece, the company said in a statement.

The offering priced above the crypto exchange’s earlier $24 to $26 range, which had already been lifted from an initial estimate of $17 to $19. Shares are set to begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker GEMI, with closing expected Monday.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Cantor acted as lead bookrunners.

Underwriters have a 30-day option to buy more than 750,000 additional shares to cover over-allotments. Proceeds from shares sold by existing investors will not go to the company.

The listing makes Gemini the third U.S. crypto exchange to go public, after Coinbase and Bullish.

Crypto price today: altcoins rise as rate cut bets persist

Broader crypto prices advanced on Friday, as risk appetite was underpinned by persistent bets that the Fed will cut interest rates next week. Altcoins were also headed for a strong week after several weeks of steep losses. 

Rate cut bets remained even as U.S. consumer price index data showed inflation remaining sticky in August, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs took effect.

But weekly jobless claims data pointed to sustained weakness in the labor market, keeping the prospect of monetary easing squarely in play. 

Markets are pricing in a 94.6% chance for a 25 basis point cut during the Fed’s September 16-17 meeting, and a 5.4% chance for a 50 bps cut, CME Fedwatch showed.

Lower rates tend to benefit speculative assets such as crypto by increasing market liquidity and encouraging more flows into risky assets. 

World no.2 crypto Ether rose 2.3% to $4,521 and was trading up 4.8% this week. XRP rose 1.2% to $3.03 and was up 5.4% this week.

Cardano and Solana rose 1.1% and 5%, respectively. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin jumped 5.1%, while $TRUMP added 1.2%.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)