Stephen Lam/Getty Images
- Bitcoin has more than tripled in value since December and surged to nearly $14,000 this week before faltering.
- Several stocks have soared and slumped in line with the cryptocurrency.
- Watch Overstock.com, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, MGT Capital Investments, and Riot Blockchain trade live.
Bitcoin has more than tripled in value since December, surging north of $12,000 this week before faltering.
Several stocks with exposure to the cryptocurrency industry have soared and slumped in tandem with bitcoin. We examine six of the most volatile ones below.
Overstock.com
AP Photo/George Frey
Shares in Overstock.com have surged 40% in the past month as the internet retailer has significant blockchain interests. For example, its tZERO subsidiary launched a digital wallet and exchange-services mobile app this week, allowing users to buy, sell, and store bitcoin and ethereum on their smartphones.
Meanwhile, its Medici Land Governance division is working with the World Bank and authorities in Rwanda, Liberia, Zambia, Mexico, and Teton County, Wyoming to improve land administration and securely store property records.
Overstock.com was the first major retailer to accept cryptocurrency in 2014, and CEO Patrick Byrne has continued to bet on the asset class. He explained his sale of 900,000 company shares earlier this year by saying, "I simply had to supplement my nominal salary with stock sales in order to fulfill personal commitments to invest personally in blockchain projects" and fulfill charity commitments.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust
Reuters
Shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust have soared a quarter in the past week, even after dropping 12% on Thursday as they tracked bitcoin lower. Grayscale is the world’s largest digital currency asset manager with about $2 billion in assets, and invests in bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies.
Grayscale’s business turned the corner in the first quarter of this year. Product inflows surged 42% to about $43 million, and six of its 10 investment vehicles posted their first returns since the end of 2017, when bitcoin crashed.
MGT Capital Investments
Reuters/Stephen Lam
Shares of MGT Capital Investments plunged 16% on Thursday, but have still climbed more than 60% in the past week. MGT is one of the largest US-based bitcoin miners, overseeing the operation of about 5,700 mining machines, most of them in Colorado and Ohio.
MGT shut down most of its machines last quarter as the low bitcoin price meant they weren’t economically viable to run, meaning its revenue plunged by more than 95% to $28,000, but its operating loss more than halved to about $2 million. However, MGT has ramped up its mining activities again following the bitcoin rally.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- JPMorgan warns of a major risk that could catch cash-strapped stock investors off guard — and reveals the ‘one scenario’ that might keep the rally afloat
- The next jobs report will be the most important in recent memory. Here’s why it could be a make-or-break moment for the stock market’s red-hot rally.
- ‘Don’t trust the US stock market at this level’: One expert outlines a scenario that could send equities crashing with little notice
SEE ALSO: 5 theories behind bitcoin’s dizzying rally above $12,000
Source: Business Insider – tmohamed@businessinsider.com (Theron Mohamed)