Coinbase Reclaims Ground as Altcoins Rally With Bitcoin Holding Above $80,000

Bitcoin held above $80,000 on Friday as U.S. equities notched fresh record closes, extending risk-on sentiment into crypto and lifting a broad swath of altcoins and blockchain infrastructure names. Solana (SOL), Chainlink (LINK) at $10.30, SUI at $1.0213 and Polkadot (DOT) at $1.3762 advanced about 5%. Near Protocol (NEAR) and Uniswap (UNI) gained roughly 7%. Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) jumped nearly 12%, leading major tokens higher. The rally tracked another strong day for stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.2% to a record high, while the S&P 500 added 0.85% to finish at an all-time high. U.S. labor data reinforced the supportive backdrop. The economy added 115,000 jobs in April, above expectations for 62,000, and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. Crypto-linked equities also bounced, led by Coinbase (COIN). The exchange's shares recovered about 10% from session lows after Thursday's earnings showed a $398 million quarterly loss amid softer trading activity. Some Wall Street analysts emphasized longer-term tailwinds tied to stablecoins and crypto regulation. That view drew additional support after SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Friday the agency is considering new rulemaking for on-chain trading systems, crypto custody infrastructure and blockchain-based settlement rails as finance increasingly converges with AI and distributed ledger technology. Atkins also reiterated support for congressional efforts to advance crypto market structure legislation, which investors interpreted as constructive for tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The theme lifted related names. Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk's parent company, rose 6% after announcing a deeper push into tokenization this week. Digital asset infrastructure firm BitGo (BTGO) surged 10%, while Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT), which plans to merge with BlackRock-backed tokenization firm Securitize, gained 4.3%.