Are These The Top Blockchain Stocks To Watch In April 2021?
With all the hype surrounding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin along with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), you have likely heard the term ‘blockchain’ lately. After all, blockchain technology powers cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Despite the meteoric gains of Bitcoin, blockchain stocks appear to be where investors are flocking to now. For example, cryptocurrency mining company Marathon (NASDAQ: MARA) is looking at gains of over 7,600% over the past year. This marks an almost ten-fold lead over Bitcoin’s gains of 799% in that time. With Bitcoin’s red-hot tear seemingly cooling right now, could blockchain stocks continue to rise?
Well, Fundstrat’s VP of Digital Asset Strategy, Leeor Shimron, seems to think so. Shimron suggests that cryptocurrency stocks could continue to grow as overall cryptocurrency adoption increases. Evidently, top players in the fintech industry are already starting to facilitate cryptocurrency-based transactions. Earlier this month, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) launched a cryptocurrency-supporting debit card in the U.K. and parts of the E.U. Coupled with more mainstream companies like Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) accepting Bitcoin as payment, Shimron’s predictions could hold true.
Not to mention, there has also been a lot of activity around NFT stocks such as Takung Art (NYSE: TKAT). Thanks to NFT technology, it sold a $69 million piece of digital art last week. Simply put, blockchain technology makes it so that NFTs are essentially digital one-of-a-kind collectibles. Overall, investors looking to bet on the rise of blockchain technology across the board would be eyeing the best blockchain stocks in the stock market today. If you are one of them, here are four to consider.
Top Blockchain Stocks To Watch
- Visa Inc. (NYSE: V)
- Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: HOFV)
- Riot Blockchain Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT)
- PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL)
Visa Inc.
For starters, we will be looking at leading financial services company Visa. Most would be familiar with the company’s electronic funds services. The likes of which enable numerous Visa-branded credit, debit, and prepaid cards around the globe. Specifically, Visa works via its advanced global processing network, VisaNet to provide secure and reliable payments for its customers globally.
According to the company, VisaNet can handle over 65,000 transaction messages in a second. No doubt, Visa is one of the key players in the consumer financial industry to watch now. In light of this, its recent blockchain-related announcement seems to have boosted Bitcoin yesterday.
Namely, Visa revealed that it will be allowing the use of the USD Coin (USDC) cryptocurrency on its payment network yesterday. At the same time, Bitcoin gained by over 3%. Now, most would refer to USDC as a “stablecoin”, seeing as its value is directly tied to the U.S dollar. Visa is currently working with Crypto.com, a Visa partner and one of the world’s largest crypto platforms, to accomplish this. The duo will be employing Ethereum blockchain technology to facilitate transactions involving USDC. With Visa being the first to offer USDC transactions, could V stock be looking at major gains ahead?
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Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company
If you have been keeping up with the NFT craze, you would be familiar with Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (HOFV). For the uninitiated, HOFV is a resort and entertainment company, as the name suggests. One of the key features of its leisure offerings is the overall Pro Football Hall of Fame theme. Along with this theme comes massive archives of Pro Football collectibles. This is where NFTs come into play and also possibly why HOFV stock is up by over 250% year-to-date.
To clarify, HOFV announced a collaboration with Dolphin Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: DLPN) last week, offering NFT-marketplace services. On one hand, Dolphin’s newly formed NFT division will handle the marketing and promotion of content. On the other hand, HOFV will provide pro-football-related NFTs to be bought and sold by sports enthusiasts. Dolphin CEO Bill O’Dowd appears confident that this NFT partnership will deliver tremendous value for both companies.
According to HOFV, the first NFT offering from this partnership will likely be connected to its Heisman 2 Hall (H2H) platform. Notably, the H2H platform represents the 10 athletes that have won a Heisman Trophy and were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As HOFV looks to bank on one-of-a-kind digital sports memorabilia, could HOFV stock continue to soar?
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Riot Blockchain Inc.
Another prominent player in the blockchain space now would be Riot Blockchain Inc. For some context, Riot is a Colorado-based Bitcoin mining company. Riot mainly focuses on building and operating its blockchain technology ecosystems. Given its position in the North American cryptocurrency mining industry, RIOT stock would be a go-to for crypto investors right now. Likewise, RIOT stock is already boasting gains of over 1,600% in the past six months because of this.
On the operational front, Riot does not seem to be resting on its laurels just yet. Earlier this month, the company provided an update on its Bitcoin production and overall operations. In it, Riot posted steady month-over-month growth in bitcoins mined from December 2020 till February 2021. Particularly, the company saw a 43% month-over-month increase in newly mined bitcoins in February.
Adding to that, Riot also announced that it would be purchasing 1,500 Bitcoin miners as well. In closing, CEO Jason Les noted that Riot’s operational hash rate capacity continues to grow significantly. With the company kicking into high gear now, will you be adding RIOT stock to your watchlist?
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PayPal Holdings Inc.
Last but definitely not least, we have fintech giant, PayPal. Indeed, most consumers would be more familiar with the company’s Venmo cash app. Through Venmo and a variety of other services, PayPal supports online money transfers globally. Given its role in facilitating contactless payments, PYPL stock has been on a tear throughout the pandemic. Accordingly, the company’s shares are looking at gains of over 130% in the past year. Given its latest digital currency-related move, PayPal does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Similar to our first entry, the company is steadily increasing its presence in the cryptocurrency fintech market. As of today, PayPal now allows customers in the U.S. to checkout with cryptocurrency alongside other payment methods. The “Checkout with Crypto” (CwC) service significantly expands the utility of cryptocurrency via the PayPal wallet. Furthermore, this service is available at checkout with millions of businesses, according to PayPal.
Through CwC, customers can sell cryptocurrency through PayPal to then pay for select online purchases seamlessly. By and large, this is a massive cryptocurrency-based play by the company. Not only could this accelerate the global adoption of digital currencies, but it also bolsters PayPal’s crypto-based offerings. All things considered, PayPal could stand to benefit from this in the long run. Would you say this makes PYPL stock worth watching?