Crypto Stocks Jump as Bitcoin Surges Above $100,000 for First Time in Three Months
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Key Takeaways
The price of bitcoin jumped above $100,000 for the first time since early February, lifting crypto-connected stocks.
Coinbase shares rose, as did those of major bitcoin buyer Strategy and crypto miners Mara and Riot.
Bitcoin surged as President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with the U.K. and said that many more deals could be on the way, while expressing optimism about talks with China that are scheduled for this weekend.
Crypto stocks got a jolt Thursday as the price of bitcoin climbed above $100,000 for the first time since early February.
Bitcoin was at $101,000 recently, up from an overnight low around $96,000, as investors welcomed news of a trade agreement between the U.S. and U.K. and the prospect of more deals. President Donald Trump said Thursday that "many other deals" are in "serious stages of negotiations," and expressed optimism that progress would be made in talks between U.S. and Chinese officials over the weekend.
The latest developments on trade provided a boost to risk assets broadly, as U.S. stocks also surged. Investors have been looking for concrete signs of progress on trade talks amid concerns that the tariffs the Trump administration has proposed will cause economic growth to stall.
Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) were up 6% in early-afternoon trading, while Strategy (MSTR), the Bitcoin buyer formerly known as MicroStrategy, added 7%. Bitcoin miners Riot Platforms (RIOT) and Mara Holdings (MARA) climbed 7% and 8%, respectively.
Bitcoin hit a record high of around $109,000 ahead of Trump's inauguration in January amid optimism that the new administration would adopt policies to benefit the crypto industry. Trump has made efforts to be seen as a pro-crypto president, including signing an executive order in March that laid the groundwork for a strategic bitcoin reserve and a broader U.S. digital asset stockpile.
However, bitcoin stumbled in recent months, along with the U.S. stock market, as concerns about the potential impact of Trump's trade policy weighed on risk appetite. With today's rally, bitcoin has risen about 33% from its early-April low of $76,000.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.
Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
Over an hour after the white smoke emerged, the new pope, clad in his papal vestments, stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and greeted the world.
He mentioned Pope Francis twice and explicitly said he wants to pick up where the late pope left off on that very balcony on Easter, before giving the Urbi et Orbi blessing -- meaning to "the city and the world."
"We have to be a church that works together to build bridges and to keep our arms open, like this very piazza, welcoming," Leo told the crowd while speaking in Italian.
His full authority and jurisdiction begin immediately upon his acceptance of the office, prior to the public announcement.
Significance of papal name
Leo is the fifth-most-popular name chosen by popes.
The director of the Holy See told reporters Thursday that the name is a "direct reference to Leo XIII," the last pope to take the name Leo.
Pope Leo XIII, who headed the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903, was a founding figure of the Catholic social justice tradition.
He is known for his encyclical "Rerum Novarum," meaning "Of New Things," which is "considered to be the foundation for the modern social doctrine of the Church," the Holy See director said.
Pope Leo XIII, who headed the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903, was a founding figure of the Catholic social justice tradition.
"Looking to the history, Leos were strong popes," Father Vito Crincoli told ABC News on Thursday. "Like Leo XIII, he loved his people. He loved his people. His people, he considered man not a machine. A man's work was a reflection of his dignity."
"We don't know this yet, but it'd be really interesting to know why he took the name Leo," he said of Pope Leo XIV.
While popes aren't obliged to change their name, every pontiff for the past 470 years has done so, usually choosing the name of a predecessor to both honor them and signal their intention to emulate his example. Pope Francis was a notable exception, choosing not the name of a former pope but that of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century cleric and patron saint of animals and the environment.
White smoke rises from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel, indicating that a new pope has been elected at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.
Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images
Seen as front-runner
Pope Leo started to emerge as a front-runner for the papacy in the days before the conclave began, according to the Rev. James Martin, a papal contributor to ABC News.
Following the announcement of the new pope, Martin told ABC News on Thursday that he knows Leo, describing him as "very down-to-earth" and a "very kind person, very reserved."
Pope Leo was the only U.S. cardinal on a short list of front-runners for pope, also known as "papabiles," compiled in the aftermath of Pope Francis' death by The Associated Press.
1st Augustinian friar to be elected pontiff
In addition to being the first pope from the United States, Leo is the first Augustinian friar to be elected pontiff.
He graduated from Villanova University, the only Augustinian Catholic university in the nation, in 1977.
"As an Augustinian Catholic institution, we celebrate this significant day for our University community and the global Church," the Rev. Peter Donohue, the university's president, said in a statement Thursday. "Villanova, built on the teachings of St. Augustine, has always been grounded in advancing a deeper understanding of the fundamental relationship between faith and reason -- between spirituality and wisdom. With today's election of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, I cannot help but reflect on what his Augustinian papacy will mean to our University community and our world. Known for his humility, gentle spirit, prudence and warmth, Pope Leo XIV's leadership offers an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to our educational mission."
US Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost attends the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Leo entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in the province of Our Lady of Good Counsel, in Saint Louis, in 1977, according to his bio on the Vatican Press website.
He earned a diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in 1982. He went on to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University and received priestly ordination on June 19, 1982, according to his bio.
After receiving his licentiate in 1984, he was sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru, from 1985 to 1986.
He mostly served in Peru until returning in the late 1990s to Chicago, where he was elected to lead the Augustinians' Midwest province in 1999. He was subsequently twice elected prior general, or top leader, of the Augustinian religious order.
Brought to work at the Vatican by Pope Francis
Pope Francis appoints as new cardinal U.S-born prelate prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, Robert Francis Prevost during the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of new Cardinal at St. Peter's Square on September 30, 2023 in Vatican City.
Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Francis brought Pope Leo to work at the Vatican after first appointing him in 2014 to serve as the bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. He has spent the majority of his time in Peru, where he has also worked as a teacher, missionary and parish priest. During his remarks from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday, Leo spoke briefly in Spanish and greeted the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru specifically.
In April 2020, Francis appointed him to be the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Callao, also in Peru, his profile said.
Since 2023, he has held the position at the Vatican as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, in charge of vetting nominations for bishops around the world.
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a tour of Nucor Steel Berkeley in Huger, South Carolina, on May 1.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
A social media account under the name of Robert Prevost in February posted an article critical of Vice President JD Vance’s interpretation of Christian doctrine, calling it “wrong.”
In a February 3 post, the X account shared an article by the National Catholic Reporter entitled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
CNN has not yet been able to independently confirm if the X account is connected to Prevost, who was elected the 267th pope Thursday and will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
The account was started in August 2011 and has posts on a wide range of topics, from immigration to George Floyd.
At one point Thursday, the account had fewer than 800 followers. As of 5 p.m. ET, it had grown to more than 232,000 followers, according to CNN’s analysis of the account.
The election of 1st American pope reflects the reach of Catholicism in the US
From CNN’s Kara Fox
People react to the selection of newly elected Pope Leo at Saint Patricks Cathedral in New York on Thursday.
Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, congratulated Leo on X, saying: “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!
Real Betis have qualified for the first major European final in their 118 year history
Ciara Fleming
BBC Sport journalist
Abde Ezzalzouli smashed home Antony's driven cross in extra time to send Real Betis into a first major European final at the expense of Fiorentina.
Having claimed a narrow 2-1 win in the first leg in Seville, Manuel Pellegrini's side fought back from a goal down on the night to level and eliminate two-time finalists Fiorentina 4-3 on aggregate in Italy.
The winning moment came via a swift counter attack as Antony dashed down the right wing before laying a perfect assist into the path of Ezzalzouli to power a shot past a helpless David de Gea.
For on loan Manchester United forward Antony it was his second significant involvement of the night, having opened the scoring with a wonderful, arcing free kick after 30 minutes.
The hosts, aiming to reach a third successive Conference League final, were then given renewed hope by a Robin Gosens double at the end of the first half.
The midfielder twice stole a march at the front post to convert a pair of headers. He glanced the first across goal and into the far corner, before powering the next high into the roof of the net with Fran Vieites rooted to level on aggregate.
However they tired as the match wore on, eventually being undone in extra time by a moment of quality on the counter.
Isco could then have further consolidated Betis' aggregate lead but blazed over from the edge of the box.
Nevertheless the Spanish side held out under one last siege from Fiorentina to book their place in the final.
They will go head to head with Chelsea for the trophy at Stadion Wrocław on Wednesday 28 May, after Enzo Maresca's side dispatched Swedish outfit Djurgarden 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to advance 5-1 on aggregate.
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