Bitcoin (BTC) resumed its rally in November before taking a dip earlier last week. However, the cryptocurrency rebounded to hit a new high for 2023 on Nov 24. Bitcoin, the world’s most prominent cryptocurrency, hit the $38,000 mark for the first time this year on Friday.

This is the first time the cryptocurrency has traded past the $38,000 mark since May 2022. This year has been great for the cryptocurrency market after a disappointing 2022, with Bitcoin leading from the front.

Bitcoin finally settled just above $37,400. The recent rally marks the resurgence of cryptocurrencies. Not only Bitcoin but also other cryptocurrencies have  made a solid turnaround this year.

While Bitcoin has gained 126.2% year to date, Ethereum (ETH) closed above $2,070 on Friday and has now surged 74.2% year to date. Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE) have jumped 57.5% and 10.3%, respectively, year to date.

There have been several factors contributing to the cryptocurrency rally. One major factor is the resolution of legal issues faced by Binance.

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges.

This resolution has restored confidence among investors, alleviating concerns about the exchange's future and is also helping the broader cryptocurrency market stabilize.

Many now believe that with the Binance investigation resolved, the path for a Bitcoin ETF approval will now be clear. Market participants believe that the approval of a Bitcoin ETF is likely to play a major catalyst in driving the cryptocurrency market to new highs.

Separately, the Federal Reserve has maintained its hawkish approach and the minutes of the November FOMC meeting suggest that officials are still open to more hikes. However, as of now, they are more inclined toward maintaining a cautious approach.

Investors are, however, confident that the Federal Reserve will refrain from hiking interest rates in December as inflation declined further in October. Higher interest rates usually have an adverse effect on growth-focused sectors like technology, consumer discretionary industries, and cryptocurrencies.

Our Choices

Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN Quick QuoteCOIN - Free Report) offers financial infrastructure and technology to support the global cryptocurrency economy. COIN provides a main financial account for consumers in the crypto space, a marketplace with liquidity for institutional crypto asset transactions, and technology and services for developers to build crypto-based applications and accept cryptocurrencies securely as payment.

Coinbase Global’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 91.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 45.6% over the last 60 days. Coinbase currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR Quick QuoteIBKR - Free Report) is a global automated electronic broker. IBKR executes, processes and trades in cryptocurrencies. IBKR’s commodities futures trading desk also offers customers a chance to trade cryptocurrency futures.

Interactive Brokers Group has an expected earnings growth rate of 41.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2.1% over the last 60 days. IBKR currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA Quick QuoteNVDA - Free Report) is a major player in the semiconductor industry and has been one of the standout success stories of 2023. As a leading designer of graphic processing units (GPUs), the value of the NVDA stock tends to surge in a thriving crypto market. This is primarily due to the crucial role that GPUs play in data centers, artificial intelligence, and the mining or production of cryptocurrencies.

NVIDIA’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 229.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.1% over the last 60 days. NVIDIA currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Block Inc.  is an online digital and mobile payment platform for consumers and merchants and is the parent company of Square and Cash App. The users of Cash App can buy, sell, send and receive Bitcoin. In addition, SQ’s decentralized tbd platform allows developers to build decentralized finance applications to run on programmable blockchains. SQ is also one of the largest Bitcoin investors.

Block has an expected earnings growth rate of 90% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 17.3% over the last 60 days. SQ currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.