The price of bitcoin on Thursday jumped above $100,000 for the first time since February after President Donald Trump unveiled a new trade deal with the U.K. Meanwhile, Coinbase reached a $2.9 billion deal to buy Deribit, a crypto options platform. The crypto exchange missed expectations for Q1 results after the close.
Elsewhere, Arizona on Wednesday passed a new bitcoin bill, after New Hampshire passed a strategic reserve bill earlier this week. The Senate is also expected to vote on stablecoin legislation today.
Bitcoin pushed to daily highs above $102,400 on Thursday afternoon according to CoinMarketCap data. The price of bitcoin has climbed more than 6% this week as trade talks advance, with negotiations with China set to resume this week. Bitcoin hasn't traded above $100,000 since early February.
The world's largest cryptocurrency is now up more than 9% in 2025, but still off its January record high above $109,000.
Ethereum rallied almost 22% over the past 24 hours to trade around $2,180. Thursday's action marked the first time ethereum has crossed $2,000 since March. Still, ETH is down nearly 35% so far this year.
Coinbase's $2.9 Billion Acquisition
Meanwhile, Coinbase has agreed to acquire crypto options trading platform Deribit for $2.9 billion, the company announced Thursday.
Dubai-based Deribit is the world's biggest trading platform for bitcoin and ether options, and also offers futures and spot trading.
Greg Tusar, Coinbase's VP of institutional product told the WSJ that the deal will make the exchange "the most comprehensive player in derivates."
The $2.9 billion price tag consists of $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of COIN stock.
Coinbase missed earnings and revenue estimates for its Q1 report after the close.
New Bitcoin Reserves
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday signed a law allowing the state to retain unclaimed digital assets. The new bill updates Arizona's unclaimed property laws to include cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Under the law, Arizona can claim ownership of abandoned digital assets if the rightful owner fails to record any account activity or respond to communications after a three-year period, according to the fact sheet. The abandoned cryptos are to be held in a newly-established Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund. The bill requires the State Treasurer to deposit 10% of the digital assets into the state's General Fund, following approval of the Legislature.
The passage comes after a separate crypto proposal from Republican State Sen. Wendy Rogers was vetoed. Rogers' bill aimed to create a strategic bitcoin reserve funded by seized state assets. Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed the bill on May 2 citing volatility and risk concerns. Rogers plans to reintroduce the bill in the next session.
New Hampshire on Tuesday became the first state to pass a strategic bitcoin reserve bill. The new law authorizes the New Hampshire Treasurer to purchase bitcoin and other digital assets with a market cap above $500 billion, a requirement that only bitcoin meets. The bill caps holdings at 5% of the state's total funds.
The law mandates that any bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in the reserve are to be held in U.S.-regulated custody via a state-controlled wallet, qualified custodian or a U.S. exchange-traded product.
The bill officially takes effect 60 days after passage.
Stablecoin Vote Due
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate is reportedly scheduled to begin voting on stablecoin legislation. The bill, called the "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins," has been dubbed the GENIUS Act. The bill aims to regulate U.S. stablecoins with a clearer definition and framework.
The GENIUS Act requires that only permitted issuers are legally authorized to issue stablecoins. Institutions seeking licenses to issue stablecoins can register with either state or federal authorities.
The bill requires that stablecoin issuers maintain a 1-1 reserve ratio with reserve backing from U.S. dollars, short-term Treasuries or similar liquid assets.
The legislation requires issuers to publicly disclose their reserve holdings and redemption policies to increase transparency. The bill requires stablecoin issuers to comply with anti-money laundering obligations.
It also gives Stablecoin holders priority over claims against the issuer in the event of insolvency to increase consumer protection.
The bill also excludes payment stablecoins from being classified as securities, commodities or investment companies under federal laws.
Crypto Stock Action Matches Bitcoin Price Rise
IBIT and the other spot bitcoin ETFs jumped 5.4% Thursday. Shares of the group, including the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust are trading above a handle entry at their May 2 highs.
Strategy rallied 5.5% Thursday, pushing its year-to-date gain to 43%. Shares are trading above a possible handle for a cup base with a 403.90 buy point.
Coinbase surged 5% Thursday ahead of its results. COIN stock is down about 21% so far this year.
Bitcoin miners including Hut 8, MARA, Riot and IREN advanced nearly 5% or more on Thursday. The group is still well below its December highs.
HUT 8 led the gains on Thursday with more than an nearly 12% advance. The bitcoin miner reported a Q1 loss of $1.30 per share, compared to earnings of $2.76 per share last year. Total revenue fell to $21.8 million from $51.7 million last year.
FactSet analysts expected a loss of 11 cents per share on $32.2 million in revenue.
Hut 8's strategic bitcoin reserve holdings totaled 10,264 BTC as of March 31, up from 9,102 last year.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
