(Bloomberg) — Cryptocurrency-linked stocks are roaring back as Bitcoin enjoys its longest winning streak in more than nine years.
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The rally in Bitcoin, which is on track for its 14th consecutive gain on Tuesday, is boosting shares of crypto-exposed companies such as Coinbase Global Inc., Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. and Riot Platforms Inc., which are all up 50% or more since the start of the year. Meanwhile, the NYSE FactSet Global Blockchain Technologies Index has surged more than 52% and is set for its best month since February 2021.
For investors, the rapid rebound is a much needed reprieve from a brutal stretch of losses that began in late 2021. Crypto stocks were some of the worst performing shares last year as Bitcoin tumbled more than 64% amid a tumultuous stretch for the industry that included the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange. Coinbase, Silvergate Capital and Marathon Digital were among a group of crypto stocks that plunged by 80% or more in 2022.
Crypto mining stocks have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the rebound in Bitcoin. The Luxor Hashprice Index — which tracks how much miners can earn from the computing power used for the Bitcoin network — is up about 20% this year. Shares of Bitfarms Ltd., Hut 8 Mining Corp. and Bit Digital Inc. have all seen their share prices more than double since the start of January.
Some of the strength may be powered by short sellers who are exiting positions after cashing in on outsized profits following last year’s rout. Marathon Digital, Coinbase and MicroStrategy have seen elevated levels of short bets against them for months, with all three sporting short interest as a percentage of equity float of 25% or more, according to S3 Partners data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s higher than any member of the S&P 500 Index.
Silvergate, which has about 64% of its float borrowed by short sellers, jumped as much as 29% on Tuesday after the crypto bank reported its fourth-quarter results which included a $1 billion loss for the period. The crypto bank had already disclosed preliminary numbers earlier this month and announced it was firing 40% of its staff.
Despite Bitcoin’s jump back above the $21,000 level, not everyone is convinced that the rally will continue to run even higher.
“We’ve seen prices rise above $21,000 from $17,000 in recent days on CPI data that we believe the market interpreted as a potential tailwind for risk assets in general, though at this point, we believe the price increase is likely a head fake that will prove largely transitory,” according to Compass Point analyst Chase White.
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