A court ruled the SEC should have approved the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF
The cryptocurrency sector is enjoying tailwinds today, after a federal court earlier ruled the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should have approved Grayscale Investments' application to launch a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). In response, Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) and Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) are surging, last seen up 14.9% at $84.69 and 27.4% at $13.53, respectively.
COIN is bouncing off support at its 80-day moving average, after cooling off from a July 14, one-year high of $114.43. The shares are today pacing for their biggest single-day percentage gain since July, and boast an impressive 140% year-to-date lead.
Meanwhile, Marathon Digital stock could very well reclaim support from its 20-day trendline, as it paces for its best day since January. Though cooling off from its 2023 peak, which came just shy of the $20 region, MARA still sports a 293.9% lead for the year.
Options traders aren't missing their opportunity to chime in. For COIN, 175,000 calls and 75,000 puts have exchanged hands -- triple the amount that is typically seen at this point. New positions are being opening at the weekly 9/1 85-strike call, which is also the most active contract.
Options volume is running at double the intraday average for MARA, with 225,000 calls and 94,000 puts traded. Most popular is the weekly 9/1 13-strike call, where positions being opened.