8 Stocks To Play Bitcoin's Resurgence

The price of Bitcoin is up over 150% in 2020 and the cryptocurrency has seen a resurgence in popularity, discussion and price.

Investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin price without purchasing the cryptocurrency through a wallet could consider these seven stocks that are involved with Bitcoin.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust: There is no ETF for Bitcoin in the United States, but the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC is the first publicly quoted Bitcoin investment option for investors.

Investors can buy shares of the trust in most eligible tax accounts like IRAs. The fund charges an annual fee of 2%, which is the premium investors pay for this pure-play exposure to Bitcoin.

Related Link: Will Bitcoin Reach $100,000 By 2025?

MicroStrategy: A new way to get exposure to Bitcoin is by investing in MicroStrategy MSTR. The business intelligence company shifted to Bitcoin as its primary treasury for cash.

The company bought $425 million worth of Bitcoin in the third quarter. MicroStrategy held 38,250 Bitcoin as of Oct. 26, which is worth more than $725 million. Citron Research recently turned from bear to bull on Bitcoin and called MicroStrategy the best way to invest in the cryptocurrency.

See also: How to Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Riot Blockchain: One of the pure-play companies in the Bitcoin sector is Riot Blockchain Inc RIOT. 

In the first nine months of 2020, cypto mining revenue was up 21% year-over-year to $6.7 million. The company also improved margins in 2020. A total of 730 Bitcoin were mined in the first nine months of 2020.

By June 2021, Riot says it will have 22,640 miners. From July to November of 2020, Riot received over 3,000 miners.

Hive Blockchain: Another pure-play mining option for investors is Hive Blockchain Technologies HVBTF. Along with Bitcoin, the company is a major player in the Ethereum mining as the only public company producing Ethereum on an industrial scale.

Hive reported record second-quarter revenue of $13 million. The company mined 32,800 Ethereum, 88,300 Ethereum Classic Coins and 89 Bitcoin in the second quarter.

Hive acquired a new data center in Canada to boost production. The company has also locked in 50% of its calendar 2021 energy cost at a low rate in Sweden.

Marathon Patent Group: A newer Bitcoin pure-play company is Marathon Patent Group MARA, which is investing in mining equipment to focus on Bitcoin.

Third-quarter revenue increased 160% year-over-year for the company with revenue of $835,000. For the first nine months of the year, Marathon had revenue of $1.7 million.

The company has invested over $72 million in mining equipment and had 2,600 miners as of September. The company plans to have 23,560 miners in operation by the second quarter of 2021.

Paypal: Digital payments company Paypal Holdings PYPL is increasing its exposure to Bitcoin.

Paypal is allowing users to buy, sell and hold the cryptocurrency. In 2021, over 18 million merchants will also be able to accept Bitcoin as a payment option and won’t have to worry about the price risk with the transaction converting to currency.

Square: In October, Square Inc SQ announced it was investing $50 million into Bitcoin. The move by the company helped its third-quarter earnings.

Bitcoin revenue for its Cash App rose 1,100% year-over-year in the third quarter with revenue of $1.63 billion. The revenue from the cryptocurrency surpassed all other sources of revenue for the app. Bitcoin revenue made up over half of the company’s $3 billion third-quarter total.

Visa: Payments company Visa Inc V is pushing into the Bitcoin market. The company announced plans to offer the Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card.

Instead of offering travel miles or cashback, users of the card will earn 1.5% of purchases back in Bitcoin. The company is offering $250 in Bitcoin as a bonus for customers who spend $3,000 in their first three months.

The card comes with a $200 annual fee and is expected to launch in 2021.

Kroger: Retailer Kroger Co KR is another way for users to get rewarded with Bitcoin for everyday purchases. The retailer is offering 1.5% back in Bitcoin to customers who shop at Kroger, including delivery and pick-up orders.

The reward is done through Lolli, a cryptocurrency company backed by Ashton Kutcher and Peter Thiel.