Crypto stocks rallied early Thursday after Bitcoin rose to a record high above $100,000 after President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to head the SEC.

Coinbase (COIN) stock rose as much as 5% early Thursday, marking a 90% gain since the start of 2024.

MicroStrategy (MSTR) – a software company that is the largest corporate investor in Bitcoin and adopts the cryptocurrency as a primary treasury reserve asset – saw shares rise over 8%. Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (RIOT) gained more than 6%.

As Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith reports, Atkins supports cryptocurrency regulations that don’t block innovation or, in his opinion, impose unnecessary oversight.

Atkins is expected to replace Gary Gensler, under whose rule the SEC cracked down on the industry and regularly cracked down on crypto fraud, from small fines against unregistered brokers of crypto assets to major cases against FTX, Coinbase and Binance.

Bitcoin traded as high as $103,500 early Thursday.

Oppenheimer managing director and senior analyst Owen Lau said in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance that investors should approach Bitcoin with caution as it hits record highs.

“Advice No. 1: Be careful when you reach the $100,000 mark,” Lau said. “There may be some selling pressure and people are looking for the next breakout level.”

Proponents of Gensler’s SEC believed it was high time the industry addressed the shady dealings of many of its players, while crypto advocates – even within the agency – said the aggressive campaign against the sector was stifling innovation.

Trump’s election was seen as a huge advantage for the crypto sector.

The president-elect attended the annual Bitcoin conference in July during his campaign. His opponent, Kamala Harris, also expressed her support for the sector.

In addition to Atkins, other members of the Trump Cabinet are also considered cryptocurrency advocates, with Vice President-elect JD Vance and several of Trump’s presidential nominees having disclosed or discussed exposure to cryptocurrencies through asset ownership or business interests in the past.

Trump’s transition team is reportedly discussing the possible creation of a new role in the White House for a “crypto czar” to oversee Bitcoin policy.

Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @LauraBratton5.

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