Crypto stocks BIT Mining, Greenidge, Marathon Digital climb on ETF hopes

Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks are on the rise on Wednesday, outperforming bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) itself, as investors hope that the Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a spot bitcoin ETF early next month and in anticipation of declining interest rates in the U.S. in 2024. In Wednesday trading, bitcoin mining stocks are making the biggest moves. In premarket trading, BIT Mining ( NYSE: BTCM ) stock surged 13% , Bit Digital ( NASDAQ: BTBT ) advanced 4.8% , Greenidge Generation ( NASDAQ: GREE ) gained 4.1% , Marathon Digital ( NASDAQ: MARA ) rose 4.3% , and Hut 8 ( NASDAQ: HUT ) climbed 5.2% . Meanwhile, bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) rose 0.4% in the past 24 hours to $42.9K, and ethereum ( ETH-USD ) jumped 2.1% to $2.29K. Tuesday's news that Barry Silbert stepped down as chairman of Grayscale Investments has some thinking the SEC is more likely to approve a spot bitcoin ETF. Grayscale seeks to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ( OTC:GBTC ) into an ETF. The SEC faces a Jan. 10 deadline for its decision on whether to approve a spot bitcoin ETF for ARK Invest and 21 Shares. Hayden Hughes, co-founder of social trading platform Alpha Impact, told Bloomberg News that Silbert's resignation is seen as positive for bitcoin demand. "There are also expectations building that after Silbert's resignation, the SEC might allow other Grayscale products to be listed," he said. In October, Grayscale filed with the SEC to convert its ethereum ( ETH-USD ) trust ( OTCQX:ETHE ) to a spot ether ETF. Other crypto-related stocks also rose. Bakkt Holdings ( NYSE: BKKT ) +2.2% , Coinbase Global ( NASDAQ: COIN ) +2.3% , and MicroStrategy ( NASDAQ: MSTR ) +1.1% . Year-to-date, Marathon Digital ( MARA ) stock soared almost eightfold and Bit Digital ( BTBT ) leaped more than sixfold, with a surge in the past month, while bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) rose 154%. More on Marathon Digital, Bitcoin, etc Why I'm Not a Fan of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust at 10.64% Discount (Rating Downgrade) Marathon Digital: A Fee Market, If You Can Keep It CZ sees wealth balloon by $25B in 2023 even after guilty plea, Binance ouster