Bitcoin traded steadily on Tuesday, as a pickup in risk appetite lent support to the world’s largest cryptocurrency early in 2026, though renewed concerns surrounding treasury-focused firms limited further upside.
On Monday, Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, reported a significantly larger unrealized loss on its digital assets for the fourth quarter, reflecting the decline in the value of its holdings throughout 2025.
The broader crypto market also edged higher alongside Bitcoin, but gains generally lagged those seen in other risk-oriented sectors, particularly technology stocks.
Market sentiment improved as investors looked past the initial shock of a U.S. military action in Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Attention has now turned to Washington’s next steps for the region.
Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $93,576.7 at 00:59 ET (05:59 GMT), though it remained down more than 6% for 2025.
Saylor’s Strategy reports $17.44B unrealized loss in Q4
Michael Saylor’s Strategy announced on Monday night that it recorded a substantial $17.44 billion in unrealized losses for the fourth quarter of 2025, largely due to a decline in the value of Bitcoin, its largest asset.
A directly comparable figure for the fourth quarter of 2024 was unavailable, although the company had reported a net loss of $670.8 million in Q4 2024. Last year, Strategy adopted new accounting rules requiring it to mark its Bitcoin holdings to fair value in its earnings—a change that has led to significant swings in quarterly results.
The company’s shares, which function as a Bitcoin proxy, fell nearly 50% in 2025 as investors grew increasingly skeptical about the long-term viability of its crypto accumulation strategy. A prolonged downturn in Bitcoin prices, along with Strategy’s exclusion from a major U.S. stock index, further weighed on market sentiment.
The steep decline in Strategy’s share price has also raised concerns that the firm could be forced to liquidate part of its Bitcoin holdings to meet future debt and shareholder commitments—an outcome that could trigger substantial selling pressure on Bitcoin itself.
Altcoins climb as XRP leads gains
The broader crypto market traded mostly in positive territory in line with Bitcoin, with XRP outperforming the rest.
XRP jumped 12% amid stronger capital inflows into spot exchange-traded funds, while supplies of the token were also seen shrinking on major exchanges.
The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, gained 2% to $3,220.24, while BNB advanced 0.6%.
Solana and Cardano rose by 2.5% and 5.5%, respectively.
In the memecoin space, Dogecoin added 0.4%, while $TRUMP climbed 2.6%.
Sources: Investing
THE ETERNAL SOVEREIGN 
Leave a comment