Coinbase Stock and Robinhood Rise After Crypto Bill Victory. MicroStrategy and Block Also on the Move. — Barrons.com
By Mackenzie TatananniShares of Coinbase Global and Robinhood Markets rallied Friday on the heels of a regulatory win that could usher in the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies in the U.S.House representatives passed the Clarity Act in a 294-134 vote on Thursday. The bill establishes a regulatory framework for digital assets by distinguishing between securities and commodities and assigning oversight responsibilities to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission accordingly.The Genius Act also cleared the House Thursday, marking the first major legislation of its kind passed by Congress. The legislation outlines federal rules for stablecoins, which are often tied to the dollar and backed by reserves. Now that the bill has cleared both chambers of Congress, it heads to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature.Both Coinbase and Robinhood touched record levels during Friday's session. Coinbase traded as high as $444.64, while Robinhood traded as high as $113.44.Mounting speculation that Robinhood could soon join the S&P 500 also appeared to be lifting the shares. The acquisition of Hess by Chevron has created an opening in the index, and Robinhood is being eyed as a potential replacement after missing the cut earlier this month. An announcement on that matter could come as soon as Friday.Shares of Block, the payment-processing platform, also were getting a boost Friday, rising 1.9% to $72.05. The fintech has pursued a treasury strategy akin to companies like MicroStrategy, and has been expanding its holdings of the cryptocurrency since making its first purchase in October 2020. As of Friday, Block held 8,584 Bitcoins valued at more than $1 billion.Not all crypto-linked stocks were getting a boost. MicroStrategy, the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, was down 5.9% on Friday. Shares often follow fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin, which has fallen 1.1% over the past 24 hours to $117,704, according to CoinDesk.The prices of Bitcoin and other cryptos have rallied during "Crypto Week, " as it was called by House leaders. Bitcoin notched a record earlier this week when its price briefly climbed past $123,000. However, the rally appears to be losing steam.Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at [email protected] 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.