The cryptocurrency market continues to experience volatile hours, with public companies such as MicroStrategy and the crypto exchange Coinbase seeing their stock prices rise in pre-market trading sessions. This surge followed Bitcoin‘s climb above the $45,000 mark and the anticipation of the Bitcoin ETF decision process concluding on January 10th.
In the pre-market trading session on January 2nd, Coinbase shares increased by 6%, while MicroStrategy’s shares recorded a 9% rise. Coinbase’s shares went up to $184.99, a 6.4% increase, whereas MicroStrategy’s shares escalated by 9.14% to $689.11. Pre-market trading sessions typically occur before the market opens at 9:30 AM in New York, allowing investors to trade stocks ahead of the open market.
After a challenging 2022, Coinbase’s stock price rebounded by approximately 36% in the past month and about 420% over the year. However, the shares of America’s first public crypto exchange are still trading around 46% below their all-time high of $343 set post-launch in 2021.
Similarly, MicroStrategy’s shares have seen a 25% increase over the past month and a 372% rise over the past year, trading at about 8% below their 2021 peak of $750.
Other crypto-focused public companies like PayPal or Block Inc. did not experience pre-market gains despite the upward momentum in the Bitcoin market. However, this could change with the opening of the US market.
The recent changes in the stock prices of crypto-centric companies form a contrasting view to the end-of-year trajectory of many crypto-focused companies, which saw share prices drop amid broader market corrections. The latest price increase for the two major Bitcoin-focused companies is linked to the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. MicroStrategy continues to be the largest corporate investor in Bitcoin, while Coinbase has been selected as a custodian by several corporate giants applying to launch spot Bitcoin ETF services.