The cryptocurrency market has had an impressive 2023 after rebounding from last year’s lows. The recent rally amid renewed optimism hints at a promising 2024 for the space. Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most prominent and popular cryptocurrency, has particularly put up a great show this year.

Earlier this month, Bitcoin briefly rallied above $44,000 and has been hovering around $41,500 since last week. Other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE) and BNB (BNB)  have also seen an upward trend.

Year to date, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano and Dogecoin have rallied 150.2%, 80.4%, 130.8% and 27.1%, respectively.

Last year, the cryptocurrency market suffered a series of setbacks, largely attributed to a couple of unfortunate incidents, notably the FTX bankruptcy resulting from a major fraud and the crash of Tera Luna.

This year’s rally has been driven by multiple positive news despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy. The recent rally has been sparked by renewed optimism as the Federal Reserve gears up to end its monetary tightening policy.

An increase in interest rates usually has a detrimental effect on growth-oriented sectors, which include technology, consumer discretionary industries and cryptocurrencies.

Also, market participants are confident about an imminent approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This potential approval is expected to have a significant impact on boosting the cryptocurrency market.

Moreover, the Federal Reserve refrained from hiking interest rates for the third straight time in its December FOMC meeting. The Fed left its benchmark policy rates unchanged in the current range of 5.25-5.50% after hiking interest rates by 525 points since March 2022.

The Federal Reserve also said that it will closely monitor inflation data and try not to keep interest rates higher for a longer period. The central bank is now expected to start cutting rates in 2024, with officials expecting at least three 25-basis point rate cuts next year.

A rise in interest rates typically has an adverse impact on growth-oriented sectors, encompassing technology, consumer discretionary industries and cryptocurrencies. Hence, rate cuts in the near term bode well for the cryptocurrency market.

Stocks to Watch

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 next year is 61.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 14.4% over the last 60 days. Currently, NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

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 next year is 30.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 45.7% over the last 60 days. Coinbase currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

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 53.4% for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 17.2% over the last 60 days. SQ currently carries a Zacks Rank #2

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 1.1% over the last 60 days. IBKR currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL Quick QuotePYPL - Free Report) provides digital wallet services that enable users to purchase, transfer, and sell various cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. Through PYPL, users can use cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services from online merchants. Additionally, PayPal’s mobile wallet platform, Venmo, also allows users to engage in cryptocurrency buying and selling activities.

PayPal Holdings’ expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 11.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.6% over the last 60 days. PYPL currently has a Zacks Rank #3.