Making sense of market moves
Stay up to date on the latest market news with daily analysis of the investing landscape, served up Brew-style.
You don’t see a 56% gain in a month and a half very often, but it feels almost par for the course in the bizzaro world of bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s rally has reached new heights after the crypto king wrapped up its seventh straight week of gains on Sunday, its longest streak of wins since 2021. To celebrate, bitcoin broke above $107,000 for the first time ever earlier today in the latest sign that the bulls are winning the battle against the bears.
The bitcoin boom
The cryptocurrency has risen dramatically since the presidential election in early November on the hopes that a second Trump administration will prove to be a friendly one for crypto traders. So far, all signs point to a bright future for bitcoin, with crypto fan Paul Atkins on deck to become the new head of the SEC.
This latest surge was sparked by Donald Trump's comments in a CNBC interview this weekend that the president-elect seems intent on fulfilling his campaign promise of establishing a bitcoin strategic reserve. Acting much like the US’s strategic petroleum reserve, Trump vowed that, “We’re going to do something great with crypto.”
But if you don’t feel like shelling out $107,000 for the world’s leading cryptocurrency, don’t worry—you've got some other investment options.
The bitcoin bonanza
MicroStrategy has become the de facto stock of choice for anyone interested in bitcoin, a role that founder and chairman Michael Saylor seems to relish—he compared investing in bitcoin today to investing in Manhattan 300 years ago on CNBC earlier this afternoon.
Shares of Saylor’s company rose today on news of its inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 beginning next Monday, which means funds that track the index will be able to buy the stock. That means more money for MicroStrategy to purchase more bitcoin to add to the $1.5 billion it spent on the cryptocurrency just last week, which brought its total bitcoin hoard to about $46 billion.
The bitcoin beneficiaries
If you want to invest in the recent crypto craze but don’t feel like putting all your money on bitcoin (or on a company that also puts all its money on bitcoin), you do have some other options.
Bitcoin’s rally has kicked off a wave of crypto enthusiasm among investors, which has in turn propelled memecoins like the venerable fartcoin to new heights. Companies like Robinhood Markets and Coinbase Global that allow investors to put their money on crypto are the obvious winners from this trend. Robinhood shares are up over 74% since the presidential election, while Coinbase has climbed nearly 64%, and both have favorable analyst ratings heading into 2025.
It’s a brave new era for crypto, and while the FOMO is very real, keep in mind that the pros still recommend only allotting a small percentage of your portfolio to bitcoin.—MR