Cryptocurrencies have gone ballistic lately. In fact, the market is now worth $2 trillion, according to Reuters, with Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) now worth about $1 trillion. That’s all thanks to an incredible amount of retail and institutional interest, in addition to broader acceptance from companies across the world.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), for example, will soon let its wealth management clients invest in Bitcoin and other digital assets. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) announced that it will offer wealth management clients to Bitcoin funds. JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) is even launching a crypto-basket of stocks that have exposure to Bitcoin, such as Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Square (NYSE:SQ). The firm also just revised its price target on Bitcoin to $130,000. Meanwhile, Microstrategy has bought another $15 million worth of Bitcoin in recent days, and Square bought $170 million worth of it earlier this year.
But those are just some of the names involved with Bitcoin now. In fact, today some of the biggest companies in the world have become supportive of the cryptocurrency. They include the following:
Accepting Bitcoin: Paypal (PYPL)
First up on this list, Paypal is now a major player that allows customers to pay with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The company noted the following in a recent press release:
“Building on the ability to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency with PayPal, customers using Checkout with Crypto can check out safely and easily, converting cryptocurrency holdings to fiat [currency] at checkout, with certainty of value and no additional transaction fees.”
This new feature will become increasingly available to the millions of merchants on Paypal this year and it could lead to greater adoption of the platform. But that’s not all that PYPL has going for it; the company also just announced that it will soon acquire cryptocurrency security company Curv. Curv helps users store their digital assets securely.
Best of all, though, the recent pullback in the PYPL stock is a buying opportunity. After pulling back from a high of $301, the stock found double bottom support. Now, it’s just starting to pivot higher. Its RSI, MACD and Williams’ %R are all over-extended in oversold territory as well. From a current price of nearly $252, I believe PYPL stock could retest its prior high above $300.
Visa (V)
Next up on this list of crypto-embracing companies is Visa, another big payments company that’s stepping into cryptocurrency. In fact, Visa just became the first payments network to settle transactions with USD Coin, a stable coin backed by the US dollar. The head of crypto at the company, Cuy Sheffield, was recently quoted in a Reuters article. Sheffield said:
“We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers.”
So, Visa is stepping into the complex world of crypto. Better, much like PayPal, I’d use the pullback in Visa as a buying opportunity. After catching support at around $206, V stock is now pivoting back to prior highs. Today, it’s trading at around $220. From here, I’d like to see Visa stock test its recent 52-week high of $228.23, near-term.
Tesla (TSLA)
Over the last few months, Tesla announced that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. In fact, according to CNBC, the company said it did so for “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on [its] cash.”
However, the company is not just diversifying here. Nowadays, you can even buy a Tesla car with Bitcoin in the United States. And if you’re outside of the country, you may be able to buy one with the cryptocurrency later in 2021.
“This is a seminal moment for Tesla and for the crypto world with Musk now cutting the red ribbon on Bitcoin transactions within he broader Tesla ecosystem,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, as quoted by CNBC. “We expect less than 5% of transactions to be through bitcoin over the next 12 to 18 months however this could move higher over time as crypto acceptance starts to ramp over the coming years.”
With Tesla now embracing Bitcoin with open arms, the automaker has proved itself as one of the trend-setters once again — just another reason TSLA stock makes for a compelling investment. Currently, TSLA trades at around $690.
Shopify (SHOP)
We’ve talked about two huge payment companies already on this list. However, we’ve yet to mention Shopify, one of the largest e-commerce platforms for merchants. Like Paypal, SHOP is also becoming heavily involved with Bitcoin. This past June, for example, it entered into an agreement with Coinpayments which allows merchants to accept Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies, from Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) to Litecoin (CCC:LTC-USD).
But that’s not the only instance of Shopify trying to innovate and work its way into crypto. At the beginning of April, the company’s CEO, Tobi Lütke, even asked users on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) how Shopify can help build in decentralized finance, or DeFi. Lütke tweeted, “Hey #DeFi Twitter […] What are the commerce related opportunities that you are most excited about? What role do you want Shopify to play?”
Right now, SHOP stock trades for around $1,166, having pulled back from its highs above $1,400 in February.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Last up on this list, Microsoft has been involved with Bitcoin since 2014 when it started allowing U.S. users to buy Windows content with the cryptocurrency.
True, it did suspend that option for a bit, but it’s now allowing for Bitcoin again today. Reportedly, Microsoft may now also add Bitcoin payments to its online Xbox gaming store as well.
However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for MSFT and cryptocurrency. According to Bitcoin.com contributor Kevin Helms, the company has also “patented a cryptocurrency mining system that leverages human activities, including brain waves and body heat, when performing online tasks such as using search engines, chatbots, and reading ads.”
So, while the company may not seem to have much interest in diversifying its investments into cryptocurrencies — with Bill Gates saying Bitcoin is not for him — MSFT stock still certainly represents the cutting edge of technology.
On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Ian Cooper, a contributor to InvestorPlace.com, has been analyzing stocks and options for web-based advisories since 1999.
