Four of the top five cryptocurrencies were on the rise Thursday with only EOS (EOS-USD) declining for the second day in a row.
Ethereum (ETH-USD) was the top gainer of the day, jumping more than 10% to US$760.72 followed by Bitcoin (BTC-USD) which was up more than 4% to US$9,654.38.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD) and Ripple (XRP-USD) were both up more than 2%.
Finance giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) announced that it will be opening a Bitcoin trading operation, making it one of the first of the money centers to trade cryptocurrency.
READ: Goldman Sachs to begin Bitcoin futures trading, says the cryptocurrency is not a fraud
Goldman will use its own money to trade Bitcoin futures contracts with clients, according to a New York Times report.
The bank will not be buying and selling Bitcoin just yet but will be seeking out regulatory approval to move in that direction.
The North American Marijuana Index, comprised of the leading cannabis stocks in the U.S. and Canada, has been declining since Tuesday.
Cannabis packaging company Kush Bottles has completed a $12 million acquisition of Summit Innovations, a Denver-based company that supplies hydrocarbon gases to cannabis extractors that turn cannabis plants into oils. Shares were up nearly a percent to US$5.63.
READ: Kush Bottles expands cannabis services offering as it closes US$15mln acquisition of Summit Innovations
High Hampton Holdings has received approval from the Coachella City Planning Commission for cannabis farming. The area was made famous by the namesake music festival, which has featured mega stars like Beyonce and Eminem. Shares were up more than 6% to US$0.88.
Valens GroWorks has harvested its first cannabis crop. Based in Vancouver, its cannabis has a higher THC content than the industry average. Through an extraction process, the company converts the plants into cannabis oil. Shares were up slightly to US$1.10.