Crypto Stocks Gain as Bitcoin Heads for Best Week in Over Two Years -- WSJ

By Vicky Ge Huang

Crypto stocks are rising Friday as bitcoin is headed for its best weekly performance in more than two years.

Shares of Coinbase Global, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., were up 10% Friday morning. Robinhood Markets jumped 13%. Strategy, the bitcoin accumulation firm led by Michael Saylor, gained 8%.

Bitcoin recently traded around $77,500 after spiking to $79,426 earlier in the day. It has been climbing since the Treasury Department announced its expanded bond buyback program, which continues to weigh on the dollar.

The largest cryptocurrency is still well below its previous peak above $126,000 in October, but its sudden move upward has lifted other digital currencies and crypto-linked stocks.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has advanced about 27% this week and is on pace for its best week in more than five years. It recently traded around $2,400.

Analysts attribute bitcoin's recent surge to institutional demand and market dynamics. More than $1 billion has flowed into exchange-traded funds tracking the cryptocurrency in the past two days, while billions of dollars in bearish positions were liquidated over the past week, creating a short squeeze that propelled the token's price higher.

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August 21, 2026 11:13 ET (15:13 GMT)