Bitcoin Blasts Above $9000; Cyber Monday On Tap: S&P 500 Futures

Futures for the S&P 500 index were little changed Sunday evening while Bitcoin didn't take the Thanksgiving weekend off, soaring above $9,000 for the first time. Holiday online shopping should peak on Cyber Monday, with Amazon ( AMZN ) expected to shine once again.

[ibd-display-video id=2382612 width=50 float=left autostart=true] S&P 500 index futures were about even vs. fair value. Nasdaq 100 and Dow futures rose a fraction.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin was trading at $9,354 Sunday, according to CoinMarketcap.com, rising as high as $9,500 earlier. Nearly four million Bitcoin out of the 21 million that will ever be "mined" are permanently lost, according to a Chainalysis study , suggesting even greater scarcity.

The cryptocurrency is gaining more acceptance among financial leaders as well as more and more attention from general investors. CME ( CME ) will begin trading Bitcoin futures by year end, with CBOE ( CBOE ) also looking to do so as well. JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) reportedly is mulling whether to trade Bitcoin futures on behalf of clients, weeks after JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called the cryptocurrency a "fraud." Cryptocurrency-related plays include Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ) and the recently renamed Riot Blockchain (RIOT).

Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday is expected to be the largest U.S. online shopping day ever. Adobe Analytics sees $6.6 billion in sales, a 16.5% gain from last year. Amazon is expected to account for half the growth in holiday online sales, bolstering its already-hefty e-commerce share. With an estimated 90 million Amazon Prime households, the incentives to use the Amazon ecosystem are stronger than ever.

Amazon shares jumped 2.6% on Black Friday to 1,186, a record high. Shares are extended from a 1,083.41 entry.

Some $5.03 billion was spent online on Black Friday, up 16.9%, Adobe Analytics estimated. Smartphones accounted for 44.6% of visits and 26% of revenue.

The Nintendo (NTDOY) Switch, Roku (ROKU) streaming devices and Alphabet (GOOGL)-owned Google Chromecast were among the top electronics products on Black Friday.

So far from Nov. 1-Nov. 24, online shopping has leapt 17.8% to $38.3 billion.

Keep in mind that it's hard to judge holiday winners and losers in the midst of the shopping season. You don't know the extent of discounts or inventories.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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