all41author Founded in 1993, The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter, happier, and richer. The Motley Fool reaches millions of people every month through our premium investing solutions, free guidance and market analysis on Fool.com, top-rated podcasts, and non-profit The Motley Fool Foundation.
Founded in 1993, The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter, happier, and richer. The Motley Fool reaches millions of people every month through our premium investing solutions, free guidance and market analysis on Fool.com, top-rated podcasts, and non-profit The Motley Fool Foundation.
You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More
Thursday was a fine day for cryptocurrencies nearly across the board, with the sector’s leaders driving the rally. No. 1 and No. 2 — respectively, Bitcoin (BTC 3.17%) and Ethereum (ETH 3.11%) — were trading around 3% higher over the 24 hours preceding late afternoon.
As the top dogs go, the remaining pack typically follows, so a host of other coins, tokens, and related assets also moved higher, albeit at different paces. Fellow crypto Aave (AAVE 5.13%) was enjoying a nearly 9% surge, while miner Riot Platforms (RIOT -1.06%) was defying gravity at a nearly 5% clip.
The trajectory of cryptocurrencies (and stocks closely tied to them, like Riot Platforms) frequently depends on the performance of low-risk assets. When the latter start to weaken, this emboldens certain investors to stack up on the riskier goodies, and coins and tokens are still considered to be model high-risk plays.
On Thursday, those safe havens weren’t looking infallible. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond, considered by many to be the most secure investment on the scene, weakened from a 16-year high on Thursday.
Meanwhile, everybody’s favorite fossil fuel investment, crude oil, also saw a price retreat (in its case, from year-to-date highs). Finally, the reserve currency of this planet (the U.S. dollar) lost a bit of its value too.
These weren’t the only factors driving Bitcoin, Ethereum, and their many relatives higher on the day.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) late Wednesday, Bloomberg reporter Eric Balchunas wrote that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making moves to accelerate the rollout of certain Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Specifically, according to Balchunas, the SEC has requested ETF filers to update their applications in an effort to get those instruments up and running for trading next week.
While this apparently only concerns Ethereum ETFs, it’s easy to imagine that if the regulator is ready to turn on the light for that crypto, it’s ready to do so for a host of other coins and tokens. There still is much crypto resistance in official corners — particularly at the SEC, ahem — but at least to some degree, it seems to be melting a bit.
Other factors playing in the background are also contributing to the current crypto bullishness. The equity market continues to be generally frothy, which not only fuels optimism for riskier assets but also gets investors to consider non-stock plays like cryptocurrencies. Interest rates remain relatively high and look set to stay that way for some time or even rise. So, we likely haven’t seen the last good day for coins and tokens.
Eric Volkman has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Aave, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Market-beating stocks from our award-winning analyst team.
Calculated by average return of all stock recommendations since inception of the Stock Advisor service in February of 2002. Returns as of 10/01/2023.
Discounted offers are only available to new members. Stock Advisor list price is $199 per year.
Calculated by Time-Weighted Return since 2002. Volatility profiles based on trailing-three-year calculations of the standard deviation of service investment returns.
Invest better with The Motley Fool. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool’s premium services.
Making the world smarter, happier, and richer.
Market data powered by Xignite.
