Bitcoin, MicroStrategy and Coinbase Stocks Rise. How Trump Is Helping Crypto. — Barrons.com

By Brian Swint

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-focused stocks were rising early Wednesday. That is down partly to broader market sentiment and perhaps optimism that President Donald Trump might be able to do more for the crypto industry.

Bitcoin added 0.9% to $107,752, not too far off the record high of $111,000. MicroStrategy, the company that has made trading Bitcoin the core of its business plan, was up 3.2%, making it the biggest gainer in premarket trading. Coinbase, the crypto trading platform, was up 2.3%. By comparison, futures for the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.1%.

Trump's signature tax-and-spend legislation was passed by the Senate on Tuesday without any crypto-specific elements despite a last-minute attempt to squeeze in tax changes that would have benefited crypto users. But the fact that Trump and Republicans in Congress were able to get the bill through could be seen as a good sign of things to come. The administration is still seen as being friendly to Bitcoin and other digital assets, with Trump and members of his family being involved in their own crypto ventures.

Cryptocurrency prices are still broadly following stocks. The market seemed to dip for most of Tuesday, but stock futures were heading higher ahead of the open today.

More broadly, appetite for digital assets still appears strong and Bitcoin prices remain close to record highs. Ethereum, the second-biggest crypto, was down 0.3.% early Wednesday but may get a boost from an announcement that Bit Digital, a digital-asset platform that trades on the Nasdaq, is raising $163 million to buy more of the token.

XRP, another digital coin, fell 0.7% from 24 hours ago.

Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.