Bitcoin Blasts Past $80,000 as S&P 500 Slips on Hawkish Fed Signals
Bitcoin broke through $80,000 on Friday, pushing crypto-linked equities like Strategy Inc. and Coinbase to new heights. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 slipped as Treasury yields reclaimed 5% following hawkish signals from Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid.
The rise in Bitcoin was fueled by its roughly 5% weekly advance, which followed a Securities and Exchange Commission decision to grant an innovation exemption for trading tokenized stocks. As a result, Strategy Inc., the most levered listed proxy on the token, surged 12.9%, while Coinbase Global Inc. jumped 10.6%
The energy sector saw some relief with West Texas Intermediate crude easing 0.4% to $101.50 a barrel and Brent slipping 0.5% to $104.26. However, materials and steel stocks lagged due to weak earnings guidance from companies like Nucor Corp., which sank 6%, and Steel Dynamics Inc., which slid alongside it on its own soft guide.