By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Shares of crypto- and blockchain-linked companies rose Friday as Bitcoin (BitfinexUSD) and several other digital currencies clocked double-digit gains.
Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), Bit Digital (NASDAQ:BTBT) and Hut 8 Mining (TSX:HUT_t) were all up around 7%. MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), one of the biggest Bitcoin investors among listed companies, rose 6%, and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) gained 5%. Crypto-exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) was up 2.6% while ADRs of Argo Blockchain (NASDAQ:ARBK) were up 4%
The moves came as Bitcoin jumped 12% and neared the $48,000-mark. It gave up some of the gains later but still traded 9% higher, above $47,000.
Other digital currencies like Ethereum ETH/USD, Binance BNB/BTC, Polkadot pDOTn/USD, Solana SOL/USD and Terra LUNAt/USD all traded with double-digit gains.
Joseph Edwards, head of research at Enigma Securities in London, told Reuters that spiking volumes on crypto derivatives exchanges could be behind the latest strength in crypto assets. Derivatives trading often influences spot prices in bitcoin markets.
Cryptocurrencies have surprised pundits once more, showing resilience in recent times and ignoring adverse policy steps by countries. Just over a week ago, People’s Bank of China reiterated its long-held view that all digital currency activities are illegal while pledging to crack down on the market.
It wasn’t the first time China talked tough on cryptocurrencies. Beijing cracked down on cryptos earlier in June, forcing many mining bases to shut. Before that, China accounted for more than half of global Bitcoin mining production.