Shares of crypto-linked companies jumped on Monday, as ether prices scaled their highest level this year after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill regulating stablecoins in the U.S.
Trump signed the GENIUS Act late on Friday, marking a significant win for the crypto industry, which has been lobbying for a regulatory framework to gain greater legitimacy.”The bill was passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 308 to 122 on Thursday, following Senate approval.”
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, inched up 0.4%, though it remains more than 3% away from its all-time high of $123,153 hit last week.
The bill bans yields or interest payments on regulated stablecoins. Deutsche Bank suggests this is leading to a rise in ether prices, based on expectations that investors are moving into the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency as an alternative for yield generation in decentralized finance.
“It has been a long-awaited moment for Ethereum, and although it’s too early to be fully convinced of a longer-term trend shift, the confluence of factors are playing into its favor,” said Luke Nolan, senior research associate at CoinShares.
Ether was last trading at $3,795.4 after hitting its highest level for the year on Sunday.
Both crypto exchange Coinbase Global and stablecoin issuer Circle Internet were about 0.1% higher in early trading.
Stablecoins are designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 U.S. dollar peg, and their use has exploded, mainly by crypto traders moving funds between tokens. Some large Wall Street banks, such as Bank of America, have also been working on launching their own stablecoins.
Companies adopt crypto strategy
U.S.-listed shares of companies that have been adding cryptocurrencies to their coffers lately were on the rise on Monday.
Shares of BitMine, where tech billionaire Peter Thiel is the top investor and whose chairman is Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, advanced 2.7%. Other ether-holding firms Bit Digital, BTCS, and SharpLink Gaming climbed between 2.3% and 8%, respectively.
Companies such as GameStop have been rushing to add crypto to their balance sheets, following the footsteps of Strategy. Shares of the largest corporate holder of bitcoin have skyrocketed nearly 3,000% since 2020 and climbed 1.7% on Monday.
Blank-check firm Dynamix Corporation surged 26.2% as the Ether Reserve, a new crypto venture backed by prominent crypto investors, was set to merge with the company to form The Ether Machine.
