Crypto Market Update: SpaceX-Tesla Merger Sparks US$2.5 Billion Bitcoin Treasury Watch

Bitcoin price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$81,203.28, trading 0.4 percent higher over the past 24 hours.

Money flowing into US spot Bitcoin funds reversed this week. After three days of steady inflows, investors pulled money out on Thursday (October 22), erasing more than half of earlier gains, according to Farside Investors. The turn came as oil prices climbed, tech stocks fell and markets weighed the chance of higher interest rates.

Across two days, Bitcoin gave back gains from earlier in the week, while altcoins saw further declines.

On Friday afternoon, Bitcoin was trading near the level where the average Bitcoin fund investor and company holder broke even, according to Glassnode. US buyers were still holding back. Futures traders trimmed their open bets, and the forced selling that hit on Thursday eased. Traders betting on a rise were still paying a small fee to keep those bets open, though that fee had risen above its usual level.

In an email to the Investing News Network, Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, said buying is too weak for a lasting recovery for both Bitcoin and Ether. He expects crypto to stay short of fresh money for some time and warned that key price floors are getting thin.

Bitcoin price chart

Ether and altcoin price update

• Ethereum (ETH) was priced at US$2,392.82, trading 1 percent higher over the last 24 hours.

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.30, trading flat over the past 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$103.51, trading 0.5 percent higher over the past 24 hours.

Today's crypto news to know

Read on for a round-up of the biggest crypto market news:

• Tesla-SpaceX tie up could consolidate US$2.5 billion in Bitcoin
• Trump crypto venture sued over UAE emoluments
• Andreessen Horowitz rebrands crypto arm in AI pivot
• Ethereum upgrade test delayed
• Binance updates bStock collateral valuations

Tesla-SpaceX tie up could consolidate US$2.5 billion in Bitcoin

Elon Musk floated a potential merger between Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ:SPCX) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) during the company's third quarter earnings call on Tuesday (October 20).

The boards of both companies formed special committees of independent directors to evaluate the tie up. Musk cautioned investors that treating a deal as "a certainty" would be "overstating it." If completed, the merger would combine two massive corporate Bitcoin stashes onto a single balance sheet.

Tesla currently holds 11,509 BTC, while SpaceX disclosed 18,712 BTC in its June initial public offering filing.

The combined entity would possess 30,221 BTC, worth about US$2.5 billion at recent prices. The companies hold a combined cost basis of around US$1 billion, putting their average purchase price near US$35,000 per coin.

The consolidation places the merged company among the largest non-mining corporate Bitcoin holders globally, trailing only Michael Saylor's Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR).

Trump crypto venture sued over UAE emoluments

Benjamin Greenberg, a shareholder in Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL), sued US President Donald Trump and his cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial in Washington federal court on Thursday.

Greenberg alleges that Trump violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution by taking unauthorized payments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The lawsuit centers on two specific transactions involving the UAE. First, World Liberty sold a 49 percent stake for US$500 million to an investment vehicle backed by a UAE ruling family member. Second, Abu Dhabi's MGX fund purchased World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin to fund a US$2 billion stake in the Binance crypto exchange.

Greenberg claims this illegal competition financially harms Circle investors, as World Liberty competes directly in the stablecoin market. Trump reported US$1.4 billion in earnings from his crypto ventures last year.

A Circle spokesperson clarified the company's non-involvement, stating, "This lawsuit was filed by an individual shareholder, not by Circle. Circle did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing."

World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman called the claims "without merit," adding, "World Liberty Financial is compliant with all US laws and regulations."

Wachsman also stated, "No one at World Liberty Financial works for the US government."

Andreessen Horowitz rebrands crypto arm in AI pivot

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is renaming its crypto fund to "a16z Frontier" and expanding its investment mandate to include artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

According to the Information, the firm announced the shift in an email to newsletter subscribers on Thursday.

General partner Chris Dixon will continue leading the fund alongside founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The firm reassured the industry about its commitment, saying it will continue to "invest in crypto and related ventures."

Dixon explained that blockchain technology has faded into the background of everyday products.

"Wall Street and fintech companies now regularly launch products built on blockchains. Does that make them crypto companies? The label matters less now," he commented.

Dixon further argued investors should define companies "by what they do rather than by the technologies they use."

The newly branded fund targets startups building technologies that take years to develop, including autonomous physical machines and biological advancements.

Ethereum upgrade test delayed

Ethereum developers called off a planned test of Glamsterdam, the network's next major upgrade, on the Hoodi test network, the Ethereum Foundation said on Thursday. The test had been set for Saturday (October 26).

Security firm ChainSecurity found that a proposed change to how transaction costs are counted could cause some existing apps to permanently record a failed transaction instead of letting users try again.

No new test date has been set. Developers had planned to choose a date for the main network launch next week.

Binance updates bStock collateral valuations

Starting Friday at 8:00 p.m. EDT, Binance will value its bStocks, digital tokens that track US-listed shares, around the clock when customers use them as backing for borrowed trades, according to the exchange.

On weekends, holidays and overnight, when the stock market is closed, Binance will price the tokens using trades on its own platform instead of holding the last stock market price. It will limit how far that price can move, and will shift back gradually when markets reopen to avoid sudden jumps.

Binance warned that the value of customers' collateral can now change outside trading hours, which can bring a forced sale closer before the underlying shares trade again. bStocks are not offered to US investors.