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4 Stocks to Win Big as Bitcoin Nears $10,000

Bitcoin is zooming up! The world’s numero uno cryptocurrency is now approaching the $10,000 mark, which will mark its highest level in more than 14 months, per CoinDesk. If we look at a single bitcoin, the digital asset was recently trading at $9,218.21, a huge jump from its December low of $3,194.96.

In fact, this is bitcoin’s loftiest level since Mar 29, 2018, when it had traded above the $9,700 mark. What’s more, the world’s largest digital coin climbed as high as $9,381.82 in the last 24 hours, added CoinDesk’s bitcoin price index. The last time bitcoin had steered past the coveted $9,000 mark was in May 2018.

Bitcoin has made a superb comeback this year after a miserable fall of more than 70% last year. Not only bitcoin, digital currencies also nosedived. Nonetheless, bitcoin has soared nearly 153% so far this year, well above Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite’s gains of 12%, 15% and 18.3%, respectively, according to FactSet data.

Reasons Why Bitcoin is Past the $9K Mark

Experts opine that several Wall Street bigwigs are showing keen interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. And this bullish approach toward bitcoin is surely driving the digital asset. For instance, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM has introduced JPM Coin, which will be helpful in handling digital settlements.

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Thanks to JP Morgan’s initiative, a number of other banks including UBS Group are willing to use blockchain to assist in international clearances. Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis Global Trading, an OTC digital currency trading firm summed up by saying that “this time around, however, we believe that institutional money is playing a much bigger role than it did in 2017, which is evidenced by CME’s record of futures volumes.” And how can we forget that telecommunication, media, and technology service provider AT&T Inc. T has also began accepting crypto payments via a partnership with BitPay.

Most importantly, reports that Facebook, Inc. FB is set to roll out a cryptocurrency as soon as Jun 18 have provided a boost to bitcoin, helping it notch its best weekly performance in nearly three weeks. Facebook’s foray into the crypto space has given a certain degree of legitimacy to the industry, which many viewed as illegal and speculative trading.

The social media giant is expected to introduce a crypto-payment platform that will not only help in making digital payments on Facebook’s site but also anywhere on the Internet. Mastercard Incorporated MA and PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL are some of the heavyweights helping Facebook with this.

Last but not the least, bitcoin has piqued the interest of many. After all, bitcoin futures trading activity has been increasing over the past several weeks as shown by its moving average, per the CME Group.

Stocks to Make the Most of Bitcoin’s Epic Run

If you are looking to make money from the rising bitcoin trend but want to invest in a roundabout way, you may certainly consider companies that are making use of bitcoin and the technologies that support it, including blockchain.

As mentioned above, a clear choice is Facebook. The social media giant currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-quarter earnings has increased almost 8% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current quarter is a solid 9.2%. Facebook has easily outperformed the broader Internet - Services industry so far this year (+44.2% vs +9.1%). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

PayPal Holdings is also one of the bitcoin-related stocks that should be on your radar. The leader in digital payment process recently sealed a deal with three major bitcoin payment processors, BitPay, GoCoin and Coinbase, to help PayPal merchants accept Bitcoin as a mode of payment.

PayPal Holdings possesses a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has advanced 3.5% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 23.1%, higher than the Internet - Software industry’s estimated rally of 12.6%. The stock has outpaced the broader industry on a year-to-date basis (+39.4% vs +33.1%).

Square, Inc. SQ, which provides payment and point-of-sale solutions, is another impressive bitcoin-related stock. The mobile payment company is now allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrency through its Square app.

Square flaunts a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved 4.1% north over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 61.7%, higher than the Internet - Software industry’s estimated rise rally of 12.6%. The stock has outdone the broader industry over the past year (+9.5% vs +9.2%).

Microsoft Corporation MSFT, by the way, is facing stiff competition from Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN in the cloud computing space. As a result, the tech behemoth is seeking to build a ‘Blockchain as a Service’ on its Azure cloud. It’s worth pointing out that Microsoft’s Ethereum Blockchain had been a grand success, which compelled Microsoft to venture into the crypto space in a big way.

Microsoft has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has climbed 3.9% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth for the current year is 18%, higher than the Computer - Software industry’s projected rally of 3.8%. The stock has already outshined the broader industry so far this year (+30.8% vs +28.0%).

In fact, shares of Facebook, PayPal Holdings, Square and Microsoft have breezed past the broader S&P 500 index on a year-to-date basis.

Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Facebook, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Square, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
AT&T Inc. (T) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Mastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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