Available data shows that companies with exposure to the cryptocurrency ecosystem and to blockchain technology have greatly outperformed the market’s benchmark index, the S&P 500, in the first month of this year.
According to data from Yahoo Finance, a group of 14 publicly listed companies with exposure to the crypto ecosystem have appreciated 35.6% in the last 30 days, while the S&P 500 rose 7.7% in the same period.
These companies, grouped under the “top crypto bets” watchlist on the platform, include Microsoft because it has been accepting bitcoin payments since 2014, and because of of its Azure blockchain development kit, as well as PayPal for launching a blockchain-based reward system for employees and partnering with Coinbase for free withdrawals for its US users.
There are also firms heavily invested in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. One example is Overstock, which has been accepting bitcoin payments since 2014 and whose tZERO security trading platform went live this month. Another example would be Square, whose Cash app has been making a profit off of bitcoin trading, without charging fees.
While these crypto bets have soared in January, bitcoin itself didn’t see similar growth. According to CryptoCompare data, the flagship cryptocurrency has lost 11.45% of its value last month, as it started the year close to $3,900 and is currently trading at $3,420. Before dropping, it saw a $4,100 high.
Behind the cryptocurrency’s poor performance so far this year could be various factors. Besides the downed market sentiment caused by the year-long bear market, increasing bitcoin’s adoption is still a challenge, according to industry professionals
Moreover the CBOE has withdrawn its proposal for the VanEck-SolidX Bitcoin ETF last month, in what some called a “power move” made to stop the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision from being affected by the US government shutdown. The proposal has since been resubmitted.
The CBOE itself is also a part of Yahoo’s top crypto bets, along with the CME Group, TD Ameritrade, Nvidia, AMD, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust fund, and the Interactive Brokers Group. The list is an “editorial, curated list” created by Yahoo Finance’s reporters, after they “use[d] their expertise to judge which companies have gotten involved enough in crypto to merit inclusion.”
