Coinbase, Crypto Stocks Brush Off Broad Market Selloff

A short squeeze is pushing BTC higher and all cryptocurrency stocks with it

Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) stock is up 6% to trade at $170.01 today, pushing past the bond yield headwinds after President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act. In response, Bitcoin (BTC) is 3.6% higher to reclaim 70,000 as part of a record $2.7 billion short squeeze, lifting cryptocurrency adjacent peers Strategy (MSTR) and Hut8 (HUT) 7% and 3.7%, respectively. 

COIN has spent most of the summer trading around $160. The shares gapped higher by 9.6% yesterday on news that the SEC was considering regulations. With today's gains, the stock is testing its 100-day moving average, a trendline that hasn't been cleared on a closing basis since May 14. Year to date, the equity is 24.7% lower.

A short squeeze could keep the wind at COIN's back. Short interest is down 13% in the most recent reporting period, and the 21.79 million shares sold short account for 9.9% of the stock's total available float.

Options volume has ramped up today. In just the first hour of trading, over 130,000 contracts have changed hands, volume that's triple the average intraday amount. The August 175 call expiring tomorrow is leading the charge, while the September 200 call is the next most popular non-August contract.