Crypto Stocks Slump as Bitcoin, Ether Tumble

In U.S. pre-market hours, shares of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) decreased by over 9%, while software developer MicroStrategy suffered a 13% loss due to its practice of buying bitcoin and holding over 1% of the total bitcoin supply. Meanwhile, in Sweden, CoinShares, a crypto asset management firm, experienced a decline of 7.5%.

As a crypto investor, I saw the value of my digital assets dip when data from the United States suggested that their economy might not be as strong as initially believed. On Friday, the Labor Department released job numbers that fell short of expectations and an unemployment rate higher than forecasted. Tensions escalated in the Middle East as Iran threatened to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a political leader from Hamas, designated as a terrorist by the U.S. in 2018. These geopolitical tensions may have contributed to my crypto investments’ decline.

On Monday, Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, plummeted up to 15%, dipping below $50,000 for the first time since February, before rebounding to around $52,000. Over the same period, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, experienced a daily decline for the seventh consecutive day, recording its steepest drop since May 2021. As a result, the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which tracks the broader crypto market, declined nearly 20%, and stood at 16% lower as of 09:00 UTC. Simultaneously, equity markets in Asia and Europe also experienced losses.

Cryptocurrency miners, such as Marathon Digital, Iren, Hut 8, and Riot Platforms, experienced significant drops. Marathon Digital, Iren, and Hut 8 each saw a decline of nearly 14%, while Riot Platforms fell by 11%.