Bitcoin and the broader digital asset market got a taste of “not-QE” this week — and liked it.The price of Bitcoin (BTC) jumped more than 23% toward $79,000 and Ether’s price crossed $2,400 after the US Treasury moved to double certain long-dated bond buybacks, adding fuel to an increasingly important question for digital asset markets. If Washington keeps finding new ways to support liquidity without technically embarking on quantitative easing, could Bitcoin and other risk assets become some of the biggest beneficiaries?That question is already shaping business decisions across crypto. Standard Chartered sees Bitcoin heading toward $100,000, Metaplanet is taking its Bitcoin treasury strategy to the US and Cypherpunk Technologies is making a $33 million bet on Zcash mining.Standard Chartered analyst sees Bitcoin reaching $100,000 as Treasury buybacks expandStandard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick said Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by year-end as the US Treasury doubles long-end bond buybacks, a move he described as “exactly the type of thing Bitcoin loves.”Kendrick said in a client note that BTC’s key technical level is $65,500 and breaking above it could confirm the cycle low is in. He cited Wednesday’s Treasury plan to at least double buyback operations for 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year coupons. Long-dated yields fell, and Bitcoin’s price immediately climbed more than 6% to nearly $69,000, its highest since early June, per CoinMarketCap.The expanded program runs Sept. 9 through Nov. 4. Kendrick argues Bitcoin tends to benefit from government liquidity interventions and its fixed supply resists monetary debasement. The call still depends on BTC holding above $65,500. Without that, the cycle low cannot be confirmed.Metaplanet expands Bitcoin treasury strategy to US with Super League dealMetaplanet plans to take a controlling stake in Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise, expanding its Bitcoin treasury strategy to the US.The Tokyo firm will contribute 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash to Super League, which will be renamed Superplanet. That BTC, worth roughly $145 million, is under 5% of Metaplanet’s 43,000 holdings and comes from existing treasury, not new purchases. CEO Simon Gerovich said the structure gives two capital-raising avenues: Superplanet in US markets and Metaplanet in Japan. Shares of Super League surged over 50% on the news.The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to shareholder approval and customary conditions. Cypherpunk launches Zcash mining fleet controlling 18% of network hashrateCypherpunk Technologies is expanding into Zcash (ZEC) mining after acquiring a fleet from Winklevoss Capital in a $33.33 million equity deal, giving the publicly traded firm roughly 18% of the network’s hashrate.The mining operation is already online at US facilities, producing about 4.2 GSol/s, or roughly 18% of Zcash’s current hashrate. Cypherpunk also holds 323,394 ZEC, about 1.9% of circulating supply, and targets 5% ownership. It has pitched Zcash mining as offering more attractive economics than Bitcoin mining or AI data center workloads.However, those economics depend heavily on ZEC’s price, network hashrate, mining difficulty, and operating costs. The push follows a rally that saw the price of ZEC rise more than 1,300% over 12 months, though it has since corrected. The network implemented its Ironwood upgrade on July 28 to replace the Orchard pool after a flaw that could have allowed counterfeit ZEC creation, though no exploitation was ever detected.CFTC seeks comment on AI compute futures as CME eyes October launchThe US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is seeking public comment on futures contracts tied to AI computing capacity, a step that could shape an emerging market for trading and hedging the cost of computing power.Bloomberg reported Monday that the regulator sent a request for comment to the White House Office of Management and Budget. CME Group announced last week it plans to launch two compute futures contracts on Oct. 5, pending regulatory approval, with Silicon Data providing the benchmarks. Estimates from TD Lombard, Goldman Sachs and Bridgewater Associates put AI infrastructure spending at roughly 2% to 2.5% of US GDP this year.The review could complicate the timeline for planned compute products from CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange, which remain subject to regulatory approval. Once the White House review is complete, the CFTC is expected to open a comment period, typically lasting 30 or 60 days, according to Bloomberg.Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

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