Bitcoin Miners Soar as Crypto Equities Split, SEC Loosens Custody Restrictions

Crypto-linked equities were all over the place on Friday, with Bitcoin miners mostly trading higher, but several of the bigger exchange and digital-asset names slipped. The larger companies included Robinhood, which traded at $112.74, up 1.43%, and MercadoLibre, which added 0.66% to $1,696.24. However, Strategy dipped 0.29% to $160.03, and Coinbase fell 3.32% to $183.00.

Meanwhile, mining stocks were generally stronger. IREN climbed 2.79% to $41.78, Hut 8 gained 3.79% to $89.63, and TeraWulf advanced 3.96% to $15.50. Other notable gains included Riot Platforms, which added 0.56% to $19.72, and Bitdeer, which gained 3.57% to $11.02.

Bitcoin has also been on the move, clearing $88,000 before dropping by roughly $3,000 to the $85,000 levels, though it remains 1.7% higher over 24 hours. This came after September's soft U.S. employment figures strengthened expectations that Federal Reserve policy could become less restrictive, but the earlier push did not hold, and Bitcoin retreated from the highs as the session progressed.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also moving to loosen some of the restrictions around institutional crypto custody, with a new proposal that would create a separate set of standards for registered investment advisers, investment companies, and business development companies that safeguard digital assets for customers.