Bitcoin Slips Below $83,000 as a Stronger Dollar Weighs on Markets

Bitcoin and gold traded relatively steadily as a stronger U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields weighed on market sentiment. Meanwhile, IREN has reportedly signed a multiyear cloud services agreement with artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

Strategy Buys 250 Bitcoin for $21.5 Million

Strategy (MSTR) purchased 250 bitcoin for $21.5 million last week and spent another $192.4 million buying back its variable-rate preferred shares, known as STRC.

The Bitcoin acquisitions took place between October 5 and October 11 at an average price of $86,194 per BTC, increasing the company’s total holdings to 848,250 bitcoin. Strategy has invested approximately $64 billion in its Bitcoin position, with an average purchase cost of $75,444 per coin.

The company financed the purchases using $21 million in net proceeds from selling 125,183 MSTR shares through its at-the-market (ATM) offering program, along with $500,000 from its existing cash reserves.

Strategy also repurchased approximately 1.93 million STRC shares. Following the transactions, $354.8 million remained available under its preferred-stock buyback program.

MSTR shares were trading 1% higher in premarket activity.

Dollar Strength and Rising Yields Keep Markets Cautious

Financial markets began the week on a cautious note, with Bitcoin trading just above $83,000 and gold near $4,180 per ounce. Both assets were down approximately 0.5%.

Technology stock futures edged lower, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil moved slightly higher, trading above $92 per barrel. Treasury yields also rose as bond prices declined. This followed a short-lived recovery in the second half of the previous week, when the long-duration U.S. Treasury ETF TLT gained more than 2%.

The U.S. dollar remained firm, with the DXY dollar index holding above 102.4.

Investors are focusing on Wednesday’s U.S. inflation report, the week’s most important macroeconomic release. Annual core inflation is expected to reach 2.5%, while headline inflation is projected at 3.7%. Those readings would indicate that inflation accelerated again compared with the previous month.

IREN Signs Multiyear Cloud Deal With Anthropic

IREN (IREN), which has shifted its business focus from Bitcoin mining toward AI infrastructure, has secured a multiyear cloud services agreement with artificial intelligence developer Anthropic, according to The Information.

IREN shares rose 4% in premarket trading following the report.