A Bahrain-based, listed catering company with a $24.2 million market cap has adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy in partnership with investment firm 10X Capital.

According to a May 15 announcement, AlAbraaj Restaurants Group partnered with 10X Capital to adopt a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy similar to top corporate BTC holder Strategy (previously known as MicroStrategy). The firm also aims to explore Sharia-compliant access to Bitcoin for the Islamic world.

“Our initiative to become a Bitcoin treasury company reflects our forward-looking approach and our commitment to enhancing shareholder value,” said Abdullah Isa, head of AlAbraaj’s Bitcoin Treasury Committee.

Isa added that the company believes “Bitcoin will play a central role in the future of finance.” He cited Strategy’s legacy as an inspiration:

“We look forward to building the ‘MicroStrategy of the Middle East’ with their support.”

Related: Strive to become Bitcoin treasury company

A photo shared by the company on X shows a meeting between a company representative and Strategy chairman Michael Saylor.

Source: AlAbraaj Restaurants Group

Company makes initial Bitcoin purchase

AlAbraaj Restaurants Group made an initial investment of 5 BTC and announced the intention to keep accumulating more. The decision is reportedly a response to the evolving financial landscape and growing institutional interest.

The company plans to allocate a significant portion of its corporate treasury to Bitcoin, making it its primary reserve asset. AlAbraaj said it prides itself on being profitable, with $12.5 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reported in 2024.

The company also said it hopes to strengthen its portfolio and expand into the finance industry. As part of this initiative, it plans to develop its own Sharia-compliant financial instruments to tap the Islamic market.

Related: Blockchain is the best fintech to ensure Sharia ethics — Web3 exec

Backed by 10X Capital

The firm’s partnership with 10X Capital eases its introduction into the Bitcoin market and digital asset treasury management. The same company advised Nakamoto in its recent $710 million raise.

On May 12, healthcare services provider KindlyMD merged with Bitcoin-native holding company Nakamoto Holdings to form a BTC treasury also named Nakamoto. David Bailey, a crypto adviser to US President Donald Trump, founded the latter company.

AlAbraaj Restaurants Group plans to rely on 10X Capital to help it raise more capital to acquire additional Bitcoin, increasing the BTC-per-share ratio for investors. 10X Capital CEO Hans Thomas highlighted that the deal provides potential Bitcoin exposure to the entire Gulf Cooperation Council:

“The GCC has a combined GDP of over $2.2 trillion — larger than Canada, Russia, Italy, Brazil, Australia, South Korea, or Spain — and sovereign wealth exceeding $6 trillion, yet until now, lacked a public Bitcoin treasury company like MicroStrategy.“

Magazine: Rise of MicroStrategy clones, Asia dominates crypto adoption: Asia Express 2024 review

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s price is retracing, but strong ETF inflows, high network activity, and whale accumulation suggest BTC is on track to $140,000.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $2.9 billion in net inflows in two weeks, mirroring past rallies.

Declining exchange balances and a rising transaction volume Z-Score suggest increasing overall demand.

Bitcoin (BTC) price is down 1.4% over the last 24 hours. It trades 6% below its all-time high of $109,000, reached on Jan. 20. Nevertheless, several fundamental, onchain and technical metrics suggest that Bitcoin’s upside is not over.

Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows mirror past BTC rallies

Bitcoin’s latest recovery was accompanied by high investor appetite for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which recorded $2.9 billion in net inflows over the last two weeks.

The chart below shows that after the launch of the US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, these investment products saw net inflows of approximately $8.5 billion between Feb. 13, 2024, and March 13, 2024, peaking at a record single-day inflow of $1.045 billion on March 12, 2024.

Spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Source: Glassnode 

Similarly, between Nov. 6, 2024, and Dec. 16, 2024, cumulative daily inflows hit $5.7 billion, aligning with Bitcoin’s 60% rally from $67,000 to $108,000 over the same period. 

If ETF inflows continue, Bitcoin is likely to resume its uptrend toward new all-time highs. 

Bitcoin market volatility index: risk-on

Increased inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs signal high risk-on sentiment, as evidenced by a drop in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which measures 30-day market volatility expectations.

Bitcoin network economist Timothy Peterson highlighted that the VIX index has dropped substantially from 55 to 18 over the past 25 trading days.

A VIX score below 18 implied a “risk-on” environment, favoring assets like Bitcoin. 

The analyst said:

“This will be a ‘risk on’ environment for the foreseeable future.”CBOE Volatility Index. Source: Timothy Peterson

Peterson’s model, which has a 95% tracking accuracy, predicted a $135,000 target within the next 100 days if the VIX remains low.

Strong Bitcoin accumulation continues

Reinforcing the risk-on sentiment are Bitcoin whales, who have been increasing their holdings even as the price rallied. Glassnode data shows the Bitcoin Accumulation Trend Score (ATS) at 1 (see chart below), which signifies intense accumulation by large investors

According to Glassnode, the spike in trend score indicates a transition from distribution to accumulation across almost all cohorts. This shift mirrors a similar accumulation pattern observed in October 2024, which preceded Bitcoin’s rise from $67,000 to $108,000, spurred by US President Donald Trump’s election victory.

Bitcoin accumulation trend score. Source: Glassnode

Additional data from Santiment reveals that addresses holding between 10 BTC and 10,000 BTC have accumulated 83,105 more BTC in the past 30 days.

In a May 13 post on the X social platform, Santiment said,

“With the aggressive accumulation from these large wallets, it may be a matter of time until Bitcoin’s coveted $110K all-time high level is breached, particularly after the U.S. and China tariff pause.”Bitcoin 10-10,000 BTC chart holdings. Source: Santiment

Overall, this is a positive sign as continued accumulation signals bullish sentiment among this cohort of investors.

Related: Bitcoin looks ‘ridiculous’ as bulls attempt $2T market cap flip — Analyst

Declining Bitcoin balance on exchanges

BTC balance on exchanges reached a six-year low of 2.44 million BTC on May 15. According to the chart below, more than 110,000 BTC have been moved off exchanges over the last 30 days. 

BTC reserve on exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant

Decreasing BTC balances on exchanges simply means investors could be withdrawing their tokens into self-custody wallets, indicating a lack of intention to sell in anticipation of a future price increase.

Increasing network activity

Bitcoin’s potential to rise higher is supported by high network activity, as highlighted by crypto investor Ted Boydston in a May 15 post on X. 

The Bitcoin transaction volume Z-Score measures the difference between the current transaction volume and the average. It is often used to gauge network activity and market interest.

The chart below shows the metric has risen sharply from the negative zone and is approaching 1. A rising transaction volume Z-score, especially when it approaches or exceeds 1, is historically associated with Bitcoin price rallies.

“This is a good sign for Bitcoin price acceleration,” remarked Boydsto, adding:

“Bitcoin should be full bull once the Z-Score breaches 1.”Source: Ted Boydston

BTC rounded bottom pattern targets $140K

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin’s price has formed a rounded bottom chart pattern on the daily chart (see below). Bills are now focused on pushing the price above the neckline of the governing chart pattern at $106,660.

A daily candlestick close above this level would confirm a bullish breakout from the rounded bottom formation, ushering BTC into price discovery with the technical target set at $140,000 or a 37% increase from the current level.

A daily candlestick close above this level would confirm a breakout into price discovery, with the technical target set at $140,000 or a 37% increase from the current level.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

The relative strength index, or RSI, is at 70, and a bullish cross from the SMAs suggests that the market conditions still favor the upside, which can top out at even higher than $140,000.

As Cointelegraph reported, BTC price had broken out of a bull flag in the weekly timeframe, projecting a rally to $150,000.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Key takeaways:

XRP forms a double top and rising wedge, signaling short-term downside risk toward $1.94.

NUPL indicates traders are in denial, resembling past pre-crash phases.

Long-term charts still point to bullish targets between $3.69 and $17.

XRP (XRP) has rebounded by more than 50% in a month after forming a local low at $1.80. Improving risk appetite and prospects of an “altseason” have boosted its price.

Could XRP rally further from current levels or risk a pullback in the coming days? Let’s examine.

XRP “double top” pattern hints at sell-off

XRP formed a double top near $2.65, signaling a possible trend reversal. The pattern includes two clear peaks and a neckline around $2.47. After the second peak, XRP dropped below the neckline, confirming the bearish setup.

XRP/USD four-hour price chart. Source: TradingView

A confirmed breakdown below this level points to a downside target near $2.30. The double top suggests weakening momentum after a strong rally. If buyers fail to break above $2.65, the pattern remains in play and bearish.

Rising wedge hints at possible 20% XRP price crash

XRP also broke down from a rising wedge pattern, signaling a shift from bullish to bearish momentum. Recent failed attempts to break above the pattern’s upper trendline from the pattern reiterate the same.

A wedge breakdown is confirmed when the price falls below its lower trendline, which XRP appears to be attempting as of May 15. The cryptocurrency is additionally testing support from the 50-4H exponential moving average (50-4H EMA; the red wave).

XRP/USD four-hour price chart. Source: TradingView

Breaking below the support zone increases the chance of XRP falling another 20% to around $1.94. This level comes from measuring the height of the rising wedge pattern and subtracting it from the breakdown point.

The $2.00–$2.04 range is also important because it holds a large number of leveraged long positions worth around $50 million, according to data resource CoinGlass.

XRP/USD liquidation heatmap (3 months). Source: CoinGlass

If XRP drops below this range, many of these positions could be forced to close, causing a long squeeze. That would add selling pressure and push the price closer to the $1.94 target.

XRP traders are in “denial” — onchain metric

XRP’s Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) has shifted into the Belief–Denial zone, shown in green on the Glassnode chart below. When in denial, many still expect prices to rise, even as momentum fades.

XRP NUPL 30-day average vs. price chart. Source: Glassnode

This NUPL level has historically marked the early stages of major corrections. For example, XRP entered this phase before sharp declines in 2018 and 2021.

If history repeats, XRP may face more downside in the short term, paving the way toward the price targets highlighted by the double top and rising wedge technical setups.

XRP long-term charts stay bullish

A counter analysis indicates a potential 45% rally toward $3.69 by June if a breakout from a multimonth falling wedge pattern plays out as intended.

XRP/USD three-day price chart. Source: TradingView

However, if XRP falls back below the wedge’s upper trendline and loses support at the 20-day (purple) and 50-day (red) exponential moving averages (EMA), the bullish setup could be invalidated, risking a decline toward $1.75.

Several long-term XRP price projections have targets of $5.24 and even $17, based on symmetrical triangle patterns and Fibonacci extensions shown below.

XRP/USD two-week price chart. Source: TradingView

Related: History rhymes? XRP price gained 400% the last time whale flows flipped

XRP’s long-term charts show a persistent bullish bias despite short-term pullback risks, indicating that the rally is probably not over.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.