** Shares of cryptocurrency and blockchain companies are rising premarket as the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, hovers at levels reached over two months ago
** Bitcoin BTCUSD rises 1.2% to $67,629 and is set to end the week up 8.7% – its biggest weekly jump in over a month
** Some analysts point out that the increasing chances (link) of a victory in the US elections on November 5 by Republican Donald Trump, who has positioned himself as a pro-Bitcoin candidate, is having an impact on BTC
**The odds of Trump winning the race are 55 cents, compared to rival Kamala Harris’s odds of 47 cents, according to PredictIt, an online prediction marketplace
** The price of Ether (ETH=) also rises by 1% to $2,623
** Crypto exchange Coinbase Global COIN rises 1.9% as blockchain farm operator Bitfarms Ltd BITF gained 2.1% premarket
** Crypto Miners: Riot Platforms Inc RIOT, Mara Holdings MARA, the U.S.-listed shares of Hut 8 HAT and Bit Digital BTBT rise 1.7%-3%
**Software company and BTC buyer MicroStrategy MSTR gains 2 percent
** ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF BITO rises by 1.5%
** BTC is up 61% in the last year, compared to a 39.3% rise in the MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 Index (.MVDA).