This week’s price movements for Bitcoin (BTC), gold, and our stock picks Robinhood and MicroStrategy.

BTC

Bitcoin’s week turned out rather poorly, after sustaining above the $50,000 mark, which it managed to breach on September 2. Although it dipped below the next day, it pushed back to $51,000 later, before falling back around $50,500 where it lingered until September 5. Bitcoin then jumped up to $52,000, which it maintained into September 6, reaching $52,000 by September 7. However, over the course of the day Bitcoin dropped substantially, reaching as low as nearly $44,000, although it sustained around $48,000. It then fell further, trading around $46,000 going into September 9. It is currently trading around $47,000.

A 70% run-up in bitcoin’s value since late July, combined with the euphoria tied to El Salvador’s adopting bitcoin as a national currency, could have prompted traders to book profits, analysts said. “Profit-taking was very much on the cards,” said Naeem Aslam, London-based chief market analyst at brokerage AvaTrade. “In our view, that is a very healthy pullback.”

GOLD

Gold also ended up faring poorly towards the end of the week, moving in a somewhat inverted pattern to its previous two weeks. It ended the first week of September trading better $1,816 and $1,808, before spiking up at midday on September 3 to $1,832, calming down to $1,824 going into September 6. However, on September 7, Gold tanked similarly to Bitcoin, dropping to $1,792. Although it pushed back to $1,800 on September 8, it fell further to $1,790 where it is currently trading.

Gold gained on Thursday, snapping three straight sessions of declines as the dollar took a breather, but a slew of data from major economies limited the metal’s advance. Making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, the dollar edged down, while the euro extended modest gains after the European Central Bank said it would slow the pace of bond buying under its emergency scheme. “The ECB is probably becoming much more optimistic on the economy and could probably start reducing stimulus at some point next year and that kind of sent gold back below $1,800,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at foreign exchange brokerage OANDA.

HOOD

Despite starting September strong, Robinhood seems to have had a rough week. Trading around $34 on August 31, HOOD pushed up to $46 by September 1. However, it only seems to have trickled down from there, falling below $43.50 by September 3,  then to $42 by September 8, when it dropped to $40.50. However, it has recovered marginally since then, reaching nearly $42.

This week Robinhood announced it would release a feature later this month that allows users to dollar cost average through recurring investments. The feature will allow users to buy their favorite cryptocurrencies on a regular basis. The feature is commission-free and can be scheduled on a daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. Robinhood will gradually roll out the feature to users by the end of the month. It says that this could help grow portfolios while simultaneously reducing the effects of the market’s volatility. 

MSTR

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy has seemed to rough it this week as well. Starting around $730 on September 2, it fell to $700 throughout the day, however bumping back up to $720 on September 3, before falling yet again to $710. However, upon opening after the weekend on September 7, MSTR dropped, reaching $640 by September 8, where it is currently trading.

It was revealed this week that MicroStrategy Chief Financial Officer Le Phong and Chief Technology Officer Timothy Lang exercised about 30% of their options in August. On Aug 26, Lang exercised 10,000 options then sold all the converted shares, receiving approximately $7.1 million. Earlier, between Aug 2 and 6, Phong exercised 20,000 options, subsequently selling the shares for $7.3 million. According to a filing from the SEC, both still retain about 20,000 options. Despite realizing the earnings, the move puts the executives at odds with the company’s Chief Executive. Michael Saylor, the driving force behind the company’s Bitcoin strategy, has not sold any of his shares, the filing reveals.