Bitcoin rose on Friday, following gains in risk assets amid ongoing bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.
However, gains in cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, were capped by growing doubts about the viability of companies holding massive Bitcoin reserves, after Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy – Nasdaq: MSTR) was rejected for inclusion in the S&P 500 index earlier this month.
Bitcoin continued to trade in a narrow range below $120,000. The world’s largest cryptocurrency gained 1.2% to $115,604.3 by 01:56 ET (05:56 GMT). Over the week, it rose 4.9%, as some buyers returned after the drop from record highs in mid-August.
JPMorgan Chase: Rejection of Strategy inclusion a blow to corporate Bitcoin reserves
JPMorgan said the S&P 500 committee’s rejection of Strategy represented a major setback for the approach of companies holding massive Bitcoin reserves.
“This indicates the committee is concerned about including companies like MicroStrategy, which are effectively Bitcoin investment funds, in the index,” analysts wrote in a note this week.
The sharp rise in the company’s valuation due to its massive Bitcoin exposure had allowed it to be included in other indices, including the Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 last year. That attracted more buying in the stock as index funds adjusted their holdings accordingly.
But JPMorgan added that the trend may have “reached its limits,” noting the rejection also came amid investor fatigue in the corporate treasury space, raising further questions about the sustainability of Strategy’s model in the long run.
While the company’s stock far outperformed Bitcoin in 2024, that was not the case in 2025; Strategy shares are up 8.6% year-to-date, compared with a nearly 24% gain in Bitcoin. The company remains the world’s largest institutional holder of Bitcoin, with over 600,000 tokens in its reserves.
Crypto prices today: Broad gains on Fed rate cut bets
Broader cryptocurrencies rose on Friday, supported by renewed risk appetite amid bets on a Fed rate cut next week. Altcoins were also on track for a strong week after several weeks of sharp losses.
Rate cut bets persisted even though US CPI data showed inflation remained elevated in August, with President Donald Trump’s new tariffs coming into effect.
But weekly jobless claims data showed continued weakness in the labor market, boosting expectations for monetary easing from the Fed.
CME FedWatch data showed markets pricing in a 94.6% chance of a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed’s September 16–17 meeting, versus a 5.4% chance of a 50-basis-point cut.
Rate cuts are typically seen as supportive for risk assets such as cryptocurrencies, as they increase liquidity and encourage greater speculative flows.
Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 2.6% to $4,552.31 and is up 6.6% this week.
XRP climbed 2.2% to $3.0658, gaining 8.8% this week.
Cardano added 1.8%, and Solana jumped 6.7%.
Among meme coins, Dogecoin rose 5%, while $TRUMP added about 0.9%.
