Coinbase rebounds as altcoins surge with bitcoin holding above $80,000

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Coinbase rebounds as altcoins surge with bitcoin holding above $80,000 Tokenization and digital asset-infrastructure stocks climbed as SEC Chair Paul Atkins signaled support for onchain finance rules. By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Nikhilesh De May 8, 2026, 8:59 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Bitcoin (BTC) price on May 8, Friday (CoinDesk) What to know : Altcoins outperformed bitcoin, with ICP, NEAR and UNI leading gains across major tokens. Coinbase rebounded 10% from session lows after Thursday's earnings miss. SEC Chair Paul Atkins signaled support for rules around onchain trading and blockchain settlement infrastructure. With bitcoin holding above $80,000 and stocks pushing to fresh record highs, risk appetite spilled deeper into crypto markets Friday, lifting altcoins and blockchain infrastructure plays. Solana (SOL), Chainlink LINK $ 9.8379 , SUI $ 1.0199 and DOT $ 1.3738 rose around 5%, while Near Protocol (NEAR) and Uniswap (UNI) gained roughly 7%. Internet Computer Protocol’s ICP jumped nearly 12%, leading majors higher. CoinDesk 20 Index members (CoinDesk) The move came alongside another strong session for equities. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 2.2% to fresh record highs, while the S&P 500 added 0.85%, also closing at an all-time high. Friday’s U.S. labor market data added to the constructive backdrop. The economy added 115,000 jobs in April, comfortably above expectations for 62,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. Crypto-linked equities also rebounded, led by Coinbase (COIN). Shares of the crypto exchange recovered 10% from session lows after Thursday’s earnings report showed a $398 million quarterly loss with softer trading activity. Despite the weak quarter, several Wall Street analysts focused on longer-term tailwinds tied to stablecoins and crypto regulation. That narrative gained momentum after SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Friday that the agency is weighing new rulemaking around onchain 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, comments investors viewed as supportive for tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The theme drove gains in related equities. Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk’s parent company, that this week announced a deeper push into tokenization, rose 6%. 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%. Bitcoin News Coinbase Markets More For You XRP pushes toward $1.40 as tightening range lowers breakout chances By Shaurya Malwa 6 hours ago Price moved higher on a late volume burst, with traders watching whether compression near $1.39-$1.40 finally resolves into a larger move. What to know : XRP is grinding toward the top of its recent range just below $1.40 as volatility tightens and liquidity thins, setting up the potential for a sharper breakout. Analysts highlight bull flag and falling wedge patterns, along with XRP ETF inflows and weaker Binance order books, as signs the market may... Read full story Latest Crypto News AI agents fueled a frenzy of startup building at the Consensus Miami EasyA hackathon 1 hour ago SEC chair Atkins signals new rules for onchain markets, AI-driven finance 2 hours ago Kraken parent goes for the OCC charter in bid to become a federal crypto bank 4 hours ago ECB's Lagarde’s digital euro warning: Why Europe shouldn’t just copy the U.S. stablecoin model 4 hours ago XRP pushes toward $1.40 as tightening range lowers breakout chances 6 hours ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: NEAR Protocol (NEAR) gains 6.3%, leading index higher 7 hours ago Top Stories U.S. added 115K jobs in April, nearly doubling expectations 8 hours ago AI agents could solve crypto’s user problem 15 hours ago Bitcoin shows 2-cent price on Revolut as users report apparent BTC display glitch 11 hours ago Arbitrum approves $71 Million ETH release despite U.S. seizure fight 12 hours ago S&P 500 call options volume surges to record $2.6 trillion. Here's what it means for bitcoin 11 hours ago Donald Trump Jr. denies rumors World Liberty Financial is falling apart May 7, 2026 In this article LINK LINK $ 9.8379 ◢ 2.21 % SUI SUI $ 1.0199 ◢ 5.81 % DOT DOT $ 1.3738 ◢ 5.61 %