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After a slow start to 2023, bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose firmly above a key technical level in Monday afternoon trading thus cryptocurrency-related stocks saw huge gains, as traders look ahead to a number of this week’s catalysts that could drive price volatility.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 2.5% to $17.53K at 12:57 p.m. ET, reaching the highest level seen since mid-December, and ethereum (ETH-USD) achieved a similar milestone, climbing 6.1% to $1.34K.
The upswings spurred buying pressure across crypto-exposed stocks. Greenidge Generation Holdings (NASDAQ:GREE) +45.6%, Bitfarms (NASDAQ:BITF) +35.1%, Bit Digital (NASDAQ:BTBT) +29.1%, Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) +24.2%, Hut 8 Mining (NASDAQ:HUT) +23%, HIVE Blockchain Technologies +22.3%, and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) +19.2% were among the biggest winners intraday.
Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) also saw its stock gap up 16.3% as Jefferies expects the company to weather the fallout from failed rival FTX (FTT-USD) over the longer term.
With bank earnings, inflation data and remarks from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell in focus this week, all three major U.S. indices were in the green, with Dow Jones +0.5%, S&P 500 +1% and tech-heavy Nasdaq +1.9%. The gains also come on the heels of an encouraging nonfarm payrolls report that showed cooler-than-expected wages and easing jobs growth. Cryptos typically rise during up days in the stock market and vice versa, though there have been a series of exceptions especially during periods of low volatility in crypto.
The buying pressure seen in cryptos and stocks (and bonds for that matter) has prompted speculation on whether bitcoin (BTC-USD) is showing signs of bottoming, as discussed by Seeking Alpha contributor Bing Ventures.
The crypto market came off the back of one of the worst years in its short-lived history, as digital asset funds saw inflows plunge 95% in 2022.