Why Robinhood and Coinbase Are the Top S&P 500 Stocks Today — Barrons.com

By Mackenzie TatananniRobinhood Markets and Coinbase Global were the top performers in the S&P 500 index on Thursday as both stocks rode a surge in Bitcoin to multi-month highs.Trading platforms Robinhood and Coinbase gained 16% and 10%, respectively. Those stocks typically move in tandem with cryptocurrency prices, though Robinhood's platform extends to other asset classes. The gains put Robinhood on track for its largest single-day percent increase since September, according to Dow Jones Market Data.Both stocks were rallying as Bitcoin jumped 4.4% over the past 24 hours to $80,729. The crypto traded as high as $81,378, marking its highest intraday level since mid-May.The move coincided with easing Federal Reserve rate hike expectations, which lifted risk assets more broadly. Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said Thursday that while August inflation data will heavily influence his decision at the September meeting, recent signs of cooling prices could justify holding interest rates steady.The price of the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has hovered around the $80,000 mark since late last month, following a surge on Aug. 20. The move higher came after President Donald Trump rallied behind a piece of legislation that would place Bitcoin and other cryptos under commodity regulations instead of securities laws.Investors are holding out hope for the passage of the so-called Clarity Act, which has received support from the president, regulators, and industry executives. Progress in Congress has stalled, however, due to bipartisan pushback: Democrats object to Trump's personal investments, while some Republicans echo community bankers' concerns that the bill will siphon bank deposits into crypto.A piece of legislation governing a similar technology, stablecoins-digital currency backed by real-world assets, typically the U.S. dollar-received a critical vote of support Wednesday from one of the industry's loudest voices.Circle Internet Group President Heath Tarbert testified before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend a full implementation of the Genius Act, which establishes a federal framework for the use of stablecoins.Tarbert framed his argument through the concept of "dollar statecraft," which he defined as the use of American law and markets to keep the U.S. dollar at the center of the global financial system as it transitions to digital infrastructure."It took generations to build," Tarbert said of the U.S. dollar. "We can strengthen it. Or we can squander it."Circle Internet stock was up 16% on Thursday.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.