(Bloomberg) — Shares of Coinbase Global Inc. and other firms linked to cryptocurrencies were hammered this quarter as growing concerns about the US economy weighed on digital assets.
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Coinbase fell 31% in the worst quarterly performance since FTX collapsed near the end of 2022. Nearly every major crypto-linked stock plunged alongside it, from conglomerate Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. to miners such as Riot Platforms Inc. and Core Scientific Inc. Things haven’t been much better in crypto markets, with Bitcoin tumbling more than 10% and Ether losing 45% of its value.
At close: March 31 at 4:00:01 PM EDT
As US President Donald Trump escalates a global trade war, fear about what it means for the world’s largest economy has sparked unease across markets. The S&P 500 Index itself closed out its worst performance since 2022 on Monday. And traders have fled particularly quickly from risky bets, including digital assets.
“Many people in the community understand that this is not driven by fundamental reasons,” Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau said. “This is mainly driven by the macro reasons because of the tariffs, potential trade war, people worried about a recession coming in.”
Crypto-linked stocks are higher-risk and more volatile than even Bitcoin itself, with an investment in a company carrying the added threat of bankruptcy, Lau said. When economic warning signs are flashing, that means they’re prone to sell off even faster.
In the case of Coinbase, its exchange draws revenue not only from Bitcoin, but also from alternative tokens like Ether that have sold off even faster, the analyst noted.
Though some in the industry see Bitcoin as “digital gold,” the precious metal itself has been a starkly different story — its quarterly return has been the best since 1986 as it’s powered to new highs. Gold has emerged as a main hedge against risk, with “limited conviction” until recently that Treasuries could play that role effectively, according to Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
And the state of crypto markets is a far cry from the beginning of the year, when optimism was at a fever pitch after Trump’s election. The price of Bitcoin hit a record high above $109,000 on Inauguration Day in January.
At the same time Trump’s trade war roiled markets, his actions on crypto failed to live up to the wildest hopes of the industry. Bitcoin fell earlier this month after he created a strategic reserve of the token but didn’t authorize the government to use taxpayer money to expand it. Bitcoin was trading around $82,600 on Monday — still well above where it sat before the election.
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