Crypto stocks were rallying early Thursday on the heels of a push from bitcoin to a record high above $100,000 after president-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to lead the SEC.
Coinbase (COIN) stock jumped as much as 5% early Thursday, with this gaining putting shares up 90% since the start of 2024.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) — a software firm that’s the largest corporate investor in bitcoin, adopting the cryptocurrency as their primary Treasury reserve asset — saw its stock rise over 8%. Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (RIOT) was up more than 6%.
As Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith reports, Atkins favors cryptocurrency regulations that don’t block innovation or impose what he views as unnecessary oversight.
Atkins is set to replace Gary Gensler, under whose reign the SEC pursued a major crackdown on the industry, regularly pursuing actions against crypto fraud from small fines against unregistered brokers of crypto assets to major cases against FTX, Coinbase, and Binance.
Bitcoin was trading as high as $103,500 early Thursday.
Oppenheimer executive director and senior analyst Owen Lau told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview, however, that investors should approach bitcoin with caution as it reaches the record level.
“No. 1 advice: Just be careful when you hit the $100,000 level,” Lau said. “There may be some selling pressures and people looking for the next breakout level.”
Supporters of Gensler’s SEC believed it was high time the industry faced many of its players’ shady dealings, while crypto proponents — even within the agency — said the aggressive campaign against the sector was stifling innovation.
Trump’s election has been seen as a major positive for the crypto sector.
The president-elect attended the annual Bitcoin conference in July during his campaign. His opponent, Kamala Harris, also expressed support for the sector.
In addition to Atkins, other members of the Trump’s cabinet are seen as pro-crypto, with Vice President-elect JD Vance and several of Trump’s presidential nominees having in the past disclosed or discussed exposure to cryptocurrencies through asset ownership or business interests.
Trump’s transition team is reportedly discussing the potential creation of a new White House role for a “crypto czar” to oversee bitcoin policy.
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @LauraBratton5.
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