Crypto-related stocks soared in trading on Wall Street today. Silvergate, Coinbase, and MicroStrategy led the way with double-digit gains.
Silvergate rose 28.5% to $22.40 at the close, according to Nasdaq data. The crypto-friendly bank has attracted notable investors in recent weeks. BlackRock increased its stake to 7.2% on Jan. 31, while Citadel Securities and Susquehanna Advisors Group reported 5.5% and 7.5% stakes in the firm, respectively, yesterday.
Despite the interest from Ken Griffin’s firm, it doesn’t change what is fundamentally at play for the bank, said Andrew Defrance, an analyst at KBW. “It could lead to a squeeze short term given how high the short interest is, but there would need to be some sort of clarity to be a thesis-changing event for shorts/longs here,” he added.
Short interest in Silvergate remains high, with around 72% of outstanding shares currently sold short, according to NYSE data via Fintel.
Coinbase gained around 17.5%, trading just below $70 at the close. The crypto exchange appears to have shrugged off last week’s regulatory woes for now.
MicroStrategy jumped 10% to trade above $298 by the close. The software firm, better known in recent years for its bet on bitcoin, is up over 100% year-to-date. MicroStrategy owns over 132,500 BTC, according to The Block data, with the stock considered a proxy for investing in bitcoin by some.
Shares in Robinhood were also higher today, gaining 5.7% to trade above $10. The retail investing platform reported a 95% increase in crypto trading volumes in January to $3.7 billion.
Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/212191/silvergate-hurtles-back-above-20-with-crypto-stocks-in-the-green-across-the-board?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss