7 Top-Rated Crypto Stocks to Watch

Crypto Stocks: Key Takeaways

• The crypto exchange stock that reigns above all…
• How payment companies are getting involved in the crypto boom…
• A massive chip maker that has its hands in the mining game…

Ready to take the crypto leap? Learn how in this NO-COST event with Matt Monaco!

Ever worry that you can’t enjoy the run of crypto without exposing yourself to its volatility? Don’t! Today we’ll discuss seven stocks that benefit when crypto runs wild — and you don’t even have to change your strategy to trade them.

Let’s get into it!

1. Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA … read my analysis here)
2. Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT … read my analysis here)
3. Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA … read my analysis here)
4. MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR … read my analysis here)
5. Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN … read my analysis here)
6. Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ … read my analysis here)
7. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL … read my analysis here)

Top Crypto Stocks to Watch

Crypto has been THE story of 2021. But the interesting question is … Where does it go from here?

We’ve seen this year that it’s not smart to ignore crypto. The big banks and financial institutions are on board. It’s hard to not get excited about its future when big money gets involved.

So how exactly can you expose yourself to crypto without just straight-up investing in it?

There are lots of companies involved in this space now, whether it’s through payments or the blockchain. 

Today, we’ll look at seven crypto stocks that are the BEST to watch right now. In my humble opinion, at least…

As I always say with any watchlist, these stocks are in no way a recommendation to buy or trade. 

These are the top picks on my watchlist. Take notes and see what fits your strategy…

Let’s go!

Crypto Stocks to Watch #1: Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)

Crypto miners have long used Nvidia’s gaming processors…

Demand has exploded in the past couple of years. The company’s gaming cards often went for double the list price or more…

These powerful GPUs could be used for either gaming or crypto mining. Gaming might’ve been driving the demand. After all, it was one of the hottest stay-at-home sectors.

Nvidia did something that may help its share price improve on the nearly 600% gains it’s had since March 2020 … It built in mining deterrents on its gaming GPUs. And it came out with a whole new line of cryptocurrency mining processors.

These chips are easier to manufacture, increasing Nvidia’s supply possibilities. And they’re pricier, judging from the first online listings.

Crypto will get mined somehow. Nvidia will likely play a role in that happening. How big of a role that will be is another question…

 

Crypto Stocks to Watch #2: Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT)

RIOT is a mainstay of our crypto watchlists. 

It’s not because it’s the best mining stock out there … although it did up its September bitcoin production by 346% over 2020!

The reason we’re still watching is because other traders are watching. Since it began its rise last November, few stocks have been as closely identified with the sector.

It was a penny stock back then. Since then, it’s soared from under $3 in October 2020 to over $70 in February 2021!

It dropped during bitcoin’s summer lull then found its way back to the mid-$40s in November.

It has fallen again and will stay down as long as crypto stays weak. But as soon as crypto regains strength, RIOT will follow suit and soar higher.

 

Crypto Stocks to Watch #3: Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA)

MARA is one of the other big success stories in the sector.

Like RIOT, it was a penny stock a year ago. MARA broke its 52-week highs on bitcoin’s latest run but has tumbled alongside Daddy Crypto in the past month or so.

What has helped MARA make such a great run in 2021? It’s rapidly increasing its mining capacity…

But it never soared to RIOT’s heights in the first quarter of 2021.

MARA’s tumble doesn’t change the fact that it has still run a crazy amount in the past year. It’s another great watch for when crypto has its next great run.

 

Crypto Stocks to Watch #4: MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR)

A year ago, MicroStrategy had the same awesome breakout as RIOT and MARA…

The difference is that it went from the $100s to over $1,000!

MicroStrategy is an enterprise software company. It says that its bitcoin business increases its software sales…

The 114,000 bitcoins it holds also help its bottom line. 

Before there was an actual bitcoin fund, MSTR was a proxy for an ETF. Now, I’m not so sure of the purpose it serves.

But this is still a pretty interesting watch. It has found a nice trading range between $400 and $900 and has been (slowly) trending upwards since May. 

Knowing MSTR’s history, it’s hard to count this out when the next crypto run comes. 

 

Crypto Stocks to Watch #5: Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) 

The COIN IPO brought a lot of hype to the sector when it debuted in April, at the height of bitcoin madness.

Coinbase is one of the largest crypto exchanges out there, and supposedly one of the safest…

But its first month of trading featured everything that’s scary about IPOs and crypto all in one.

It was supposed to open at $250 … and hype drove it over $400 on its first day of trading.

Over the next month, it ground down to the low $200s. This is a textbook example of why I don’t recommend trading day-one IPOs…

But it wasn’t a sign that the stock failed.

I don’t like IPOs because we have no chart history to reference. Without that, we can’t make a trading plan. And if you’re not trading from a plan, you’re just gambling.

COIN now has a chart — and it’s looking decent.

It showed support in the low $200s and made a few runs over the summer. But it’s got a lot of bag holders from its IPO.

When a stock rises, bag holders cash in. That has seemed to be the trend of the past couple of months … COIN topped out early in November and has followed the overall crypto market downwards since then.

COIN does well when crypto does well. Traders go to the exchange when they wanna get a piece of the hype…

So keep an eye on COIN as a sympathy play to the overall crypto market.

 

Crypto Stocks to Watch #6: Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ)

Coinbase has competition on the crypto fintech front.

Jack Dorsey’s payment company has been throwing around buzzwords like DeFi lately. Square is building a new business dedicated to decentralized finance applications using bitcoin.

Dorsey tweeted that Square is “focused on building an open developer platform with the sole goal of making it easy to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services.”

This seems like Square positioning itself for a post-banking world…

What happens when people stop relying on traditional banks? Square assets like Cash App and newly-acquired Afterpay stand to become even more valuable.

Some traders like this. Square’s well-rounded portfolio makes it more attractive than crypto-only stocks like COIN.

Over the past year, it’s racked up some direct crypto exposure as well.

From October 2020 to February 2021, Square put about 5% of its cash reserves into bitcoin. That initial $220 million has grown to around $470 million.

That’s not the only thing that makes this stock tick. It had an awesome climb up from its March 2020 lows — even before its bitcoin forays.

It gained almost 800% by August 2021 but has since slipped alongside the entire payments sector.

Bitcoin used to be just for nerds. Companies like Square are laying the foundation to a future where crypto’s for everybody.

 

Crypto Stocks to Watch #7: PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL)

PayPal has had a similar rise and fall to Square. But it’s yet another fascinating watch as a crypto name.

Crypto is another way to increase customer interaction. U.S. PayPal crypto purchasers log in twice as often as non-crypto users.

One more sneaky big move — PayPal crypto users put more money under PayPal management.

You can’t hook up a crypto wallet to PayPal. You buy crypto on the platform and then have to sell it for dollars if you want to withdraw it from PayPal.

This is different from cash. With cash accounts, you can link your bank account. That means you don’t have to keep any money in your PayPal account.

International reach is another advantage for PayPal. When it expanded its crypto capacities to the U.K. in the summer, bitcoin ran to a three-month high.

Correlation doesn’t always equal causation. But it certainly was quite the coincidence…

 

See the Stocks I’m Watching

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And, when it comes to crypto stocks, it’s not always easy to identify the stocks best positioned to run with bitcoin.

That’s why I make myself available every trading day to a select group of students.

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Each morning and afternoon, we go over the best plays from crypto and beyond. I answer questions and review trading plans.

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The Bottom Line

Crypto has been absolutely insane this year. But it’s cooled off lately.

Does it even matter, though?

It seems that crypto won a lot of people over in 2021 — that’s a good sign for the future.

There are some bag-holders that have given crypto a higher floor. When hype returns, it could launch some of these coins back to the moon.

And when the coins go to the moon, so do the stocks involved with them.

Which crypto stocks do you like? When do you think we’ll see another awesome crypto stock run? Let me know in the comments!