The price of bitcoin rallied to a record high on Wednesday near $112,000, clearing its prior peak set on Inauguration Day. Cryptocurrency prices and stocks also surged as key legislation advances. Spot bitcoin ETFs on Thursday broke out above their respective buy points. Meanwhile, Strategy is raising more funds to buy more bitcoin.
Bitcoin rallied to $111,970 late Wednesday, surpassing its previous peak above $109,200 set on Jan. 20, according to CoinMarketCap data. The cryptocurrency is holding slightly above $111,000 late Thursday. The price of bitcoin has jumped about more than 8% over the past week and now boasts a year-to-date gain of 19%.
Ethereum traded around $2,645 on Thursday, slightly off its month-high of $2,692 from late Wednesday. However, ethereum has tumbled more than 20% so far this year.
Crypto Bills Advance
Hong Kong's Legislative Council on Wednesday passed a stablecoin bill, which will allow financial institutions to become licensed issuers for the digital assets, CoinTelegraph reported.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate on Monday voted to advance a stablecoin bill in a 66-32 vote. The crypto legislation, called the GENIUS Act, would provide a framework to regulate digital tokens that are pegged to the value of the dollar and further legitimize cryptocurrencies.
Monday's vote means that Senate Republicans can put the legislation up for final passage, though Politico reported that the vote may not take place until after Congress' Memorial Day recess. Once the bill passes the Senate, it will head to the House where it needs to be reconciled with a similar but separate stablecoin measure that passed the House Financial Services Committee last month.
The Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation to establish a bitcoin reserve in a 101-42 vote, Decrypt reported. The bill now waits for a concurrence vote on House amendments before heading to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for final approval. Once officially passed, Texas will be the second state with a bitcoin reserve following New Hampshire.
While not a crypto bill, the U.S. House approved the Trump tax bill, which will increase deficits at a time when bond investors are getting nervous. Bitcoin may be gaining strength amid faltering confidence in the U.S. as a safe haven.
Trump To Host Crypto Dinner For Foreign Investors
Elsewhere, President Donald Trump was scheduled to host a dinner for the top holders of his TRUMP meme coin on Thursday. The dinner will be held at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C. The exact number of attendees is unknown, but could include up to 220 of the top meme coin buyers. Bloomberg reported that the top 25 holders will be given a tour of the White House as part of an "exclusive reception." All the guests were reportedly required to pass a background check before attending.
Bloomberg reported that 19 of the top 25 holders are individuals or groups operating outside the U.S., which raises further national security and ethics concerns.
Confirmed attendees include Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain. Sun previously faced a securities lawsuit from Biden-era regulators for allegedly selling unregistered securities and artificially inflating trading volume. Sun, who claims to be the top TRUMP holder, previously invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform backed by the Trump family.
MemeCore, a Singapore-based crypto network, has also secured a spot, as well as an Australian crypto entrepreneur.
Meme coins are joke-inspired cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin, which typically have no utility outside of their online communities.
Trump launched his meme coin on Jan. 17 and it soared to a record 75.35 on Inauguration Day. However, the Trump token fell below $8 by April. It has since recovered to around $14.70, with a 76% gain over the past month, after he announced plans for the dinner event in late April.
The Trump token market cap currently stands at over $2.9 billion. Meanwhile, about 80% of the meme coin supply is controlled by Fight Fight Fight LLC, an affiliate of the Trump organization.
Crypto Stock Action
Coinbase surged 5% Thursday after ticking down 0.9% on Wednesday. Shares rallied more than 33% last week following news that the crypto exchange would join the S&P 500 on Monday. COIN stock has officially made the move to the new index. Shares are up 9.5% so far this year.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and other spot bitcoin ETFs climbed 2.3% Thursday to break out above buy points for their cup bases. The entries match the ETFs' Dec. 17 highs.
Strategy stock reversed for a slight decline Thursday after climbing 2% in early trade. Shares fell 3.4% on Wednesday. Strategy stock has rallied about 38% so far this year.
Elsewhere, Strategy on Thursday announced another round for its preferred stock offering called Strife. The company plans to raise up to $2.1 billion in an at-the-market offering for the perpetual preferred stock. Strategy plans to use the funds for general corporate purposes, working capital, and to acquire more bitcoin.
Robinhood climbed 1.4% Thursday to 64.77. HOOD stock peaked at 66.89 intraday Wednesday, just off its Feb. 13 record of 66.91.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
