Cryptocurrency-linked stocks surge as Bitcoin hits $23,000 milestone

Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks soared on Thursday as Bitcoin smashed through another record. Bitcoin topped $23,000 per token on Thursday, having only surpassed the $20,000-milestone for the first time on Wednesday. The digital currency is currently trading at $23,153, according to a composite of prices compiled by Bloomberg.
 

Early Thursday stock gains included Marathon Patent Group’s rise of as much as 20 per cent, lifting shares to the highest since March 2018. Bit Digital climbed as much as 20 per cent, Riot Blockchain added 10 per cent, and MicroStrategy rose 7.8 per cent, while Silvergate Capital, which was upgraded at at KBW, rallied 15 per cent to a record.
 

Cryptocurrency-linked stocks in Asia had jumped following gains for the US names, after Bitcoin’s rise on Wednesday.
 

PayPal Holdings, which enabled customers to use cryptocurrencies in October, rose 3.2 per cent to a fresh high, and Square, which had put $50 million in Bitcoin on a crypto “empowerment bet” in October, climbed 3.4 per cent, also to a new high.
 

The world’s largest digital currency has more than tripled in value this year, and some observers predict more to come, arguing Bitcoin is being increasingly seen as a portfolio diversifier at a time of dollar weakness and potential inflationary pressures.
 

“While skepticism still surrounds cryptocurrencies, some in the investment community appear to have warmed to them”, which is driving prices higher, said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets.
 

On Wednesday, Scott Minerd, Guggenheim Investments’s chief investment officer, said Bitcoin’s scarcity combined with “rampant money printing” by the Federal Reserve mean the digital token should eventually climb to about $400,000.