Some of the biggest moves in cryptocurrency occur largely out of nowhere. With recent word that both Ethereum and bitcoin saw big moves in the last few hours, that’s prompted some impressive upward trajectories for some cryptocurrency stocks as well. Both Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) and Grayscale Bitcoin (OTHEROTC:GBTC) were up just under 6% in Thursday morning’s trading. Meanwhile, Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) was up over 7.5%, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) was up over 9% , and Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) was up over a magnificent 12%.
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So what sent these closely crypto-related stocks on such an upward tear? A huge new surge in cryptocurrency values. Ethereum (ETH-USD) cleared the $2,000 mark for the first time since April 2023, and bitcoin (BTC-USD) itself hit a high not seen in the last year and a half, briefly hitting the $37,500 mark and making a lot of people who mortgaged their houses to buy bitcoin at $40,000 feel a brief surge of hope. The surge connects back to reports that BlackRock launched a request to start a spot exchange traded fund (ETF) focused on Ethereum.
Interestingly, this comes not long after an iShares Ethereum Trust was registered, which happened earlier Thursday. Additionally, iShares filed for a bitcoin trust back in June, which was about a week before BlackRock did likewise. It’s become increasingly clear that more and more institutional buyers are getting in on the action with cryptocurrency, and that’s likely to send coin prices continuing upward for at least the next while to come. Clara Medalie, researcher with Kaiko—a research firm that focuses on cryptocurrency—noted that the last year hasn’t exactly been great for crypto. Some even referred to it as “crypto winter.” But now, with good news starting to emerge, a market hungry for catalysts is taking what it can find and running with it accordingly.
Which Crypto Stocks are a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, RIOT stock leads the way in upside potential. This Strong Buy-rated stock comes with a 51.61% upside potential on its average price target of $16.51 per share. Meanwhile, Hold-rated COIN stock is the laggard here, with its $87.53 average price target offering a 9.21% downside risk.
