Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy was up 18.5% in global markets. His firm’s bitcoin proxy stock wasn’t alone in seeing green.
Listed firms that deal in cryptocurrencies or have exposure to them saw a field of green in global markets Wednesday, ahead of the much-anticipated direct listing of crypto exchange Coinbase on the Nasdaq.
For instance, MicroStrategy, the data intelligence firm that has added huge amounts of bitcoin to its balance sheet saw its shares up 18.5% over the past few days, tracing a 7.8% jump Tuesday morning that mirrored bitcoin’s rise.
The emergence of bitcoin proxy stocks in recent months has created a cottage industry among investors who want crypto’s upside but don’t (or can’t) hold crypto itself. Indeed, JPMorgan filed to launch a “Cryptocurrency Exposure Basket” in March. The need for backdoor access to bitcoin is only heightened in the U.S., where the Securities and Exchange Commission has been extremely reticent to approve a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Also up in global trading was Colorado-based bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT), which saw a 15% increase; and Canaan (NASDAQ: CAN), another mining firm that saw an 11% bump over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was near all-time highs above $64,000 at press time.