Yields Rebound to 5%, Dragging Stocks Down as Bitcoin Surges Past $80,000
Bitcoin (BTC) surged past $80,000 on Friday as investors bid up cryptocurrency assets despite broader market weakness. The surge in yields to 5% has weighed heavily on stocks, with the S&P 500 falling 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average giving back 0.4%. Energy prices provided a rare bit of relief, with West Texas Intermediate crude easing 0.4% to $101.50 a barrel.
The Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid's hawkish signal on inflation above 3% contributed to the bond yields spike, with the 10-year Treasury note rising 7 basis points back to 5%. The rally in Bitcoin has been driven by the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) granting of an innovation exemption enabling trading in tokenized stocks.
Several cryptocurrency-related companies saw significant gains, including Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), which jumped 10.6% to $192.32 on volumes, and Bullish (BLSH), which added 7.4%. Strategy Inc. (MSTR) surged 12.9% to $149.25 as the most levered listed proxy on the token.