Coinbase, MicroStrategy Lead Crypto Stocks Lower in Market Rout

MicroStrategy (MSTR) stock fell 25% and Coinbase (COIN) dropped 20%, setting the tone for crypto-related equities as bitcoin (BTC) crumbled from $40,000 a few days ago to as low as $30,200 on Monday afternoon.

Checking miners, Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) each declined by 19%. Crypto banking-related names Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) and Silvergate Capital (SI) fell by 27% and 19%, respectively.

For Coinbase, Monday’s plunge has the stock now trading down more than 70% since its April 2021 initial public offering, with the company set to report Q1 earnings after the close on Tuesday. For MicroStrategy, CEO Michael Saylor and team made their first purchase of bitcoin in August 2020 – 21,454 coins for $11,650 each. Subsequent buys have brought holdings to more than 129,000 bitcoin at an average price of $30,700 each – meaning the company is now roughly breakeven on its purchases.

The sell-off in crypto came alongside continued major pressure on stocks, particularly in the tech sector. The Nasdaq index of stocks fell another 4.3%, the S&P 500 was down 3.2% and the DJIA declined 2%.

“Bitcoin’s long-term fundamentals have not changed in months, but growth/recession concerns have made this a very difficult environment for cryptos,” wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “No one is looking to buy the crypto dip just yet and that leaves bitcoin vulnerable here,” he added.