With bitcoin above $80,000 and stocks pushing to new record highs, risk appetite spilled deeper into crypto markets on Friday, lifting altcoins and blockchain infrastructure plays.
Solana (SOL), Chainlink , and rose around 5%, while Near Protocol (NEAR) and Uniswap (UNI) rose around 7%. Internet Computer Protocol’s ICP jumped nearly 12%, leading larger companies.
The move came alongside another strong session for stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.2% to fresh record highs, while the S&P 500 added 0.85%, also closing at a record high.
Friday’s US labor market data added to the constructive backdrop. The economy added 115,000 jobs in April, comfortably above expectations for 62,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%.
Crypto-linked stocks also rose, led by Coinbase (COIN). Shares of the crypto exchange recovered 10% from session lows after Thursday’s earnings report showed a quarterly loss of $398 million with softer trading activity. The firm’s trading platform also suffered a several-hour downtime early Friday due to an AWS error that was fully resolved later.
Despite the weak quarter, several Wall Street analysts focused on longer-term tailwinds tied to stablecoins and crypto regulation.
That narrative gained momentum after SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said Friday that the agency is considering new rules around onchain trading systems, crypto custody infrastructure and blockchain-based settlement rails as finance increasingly converges with AI and distributed ledger technology.
Atkins also reiterated support for congressional efforts to advance crypto market structure legislation, commenting investors who are considered supportive of tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
The theme drove gains in related stocks. Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk’s parent company that this week announced a deeper push into tokenization, rose 6%. Digital asset infrastructure firm BitGo ( BTGO ) rose 10%, while Cantor Equity Partners II ( CEPT ), which plans to merge with BlackRock-backed tokenization firm Securitize, rose 4.3%.
