Cryptocurrency Market Decline

Cryptocurrency companies’ stocks plummeted on Tuesday following disappointing U.S. economic data and concerns over a billion-dollar hack on a leading digital assets exchange.

Stock Performance

• Robinhood: -8%
• Coinbase: -6.4%
• Strategy: -11%
• Marathon Digital Holdings: -9%
• Bitdeer: -29%

The decline reflects an investor retreat from cryptocurrencies and other risk assets due to fears of a potential global trade war, rising inflation, and broader macroeconomic uncertainties.

Despite a recent agreement between Coinbase and the SEC to dismiss the regulator’s lawsuit, concerns linger. NFT marketplace OpenSea, Robinhood, and decentralized exchange Uniswap have also reported that investigations against them may be dropped without enforcement actions.

As of now, Bitcoin is trading under $89,000, down 7% over the past week, and has dropped roughly 17% from its all-time high above $108,000. Earlier Tuesday, the value dipped to nearly $86,000.

Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Dogecoin, XRP, and Solana also suffered declines but have partially recovered.

Significant Hack

Markets were hit hard last Friday as Bybit, the 14th-largest crypto exchange, experienced a massive hack, losing $1.4 billion in Ethereum and related tokens—the largest crypto attack to date, causing Bitcoin to plunge below $90,000 for the first time in three months.

Inflation Concerns

U.S. inflation has been rising, with the consumer price index (CPI), a key indicator of price trends, increasing for the fourth consecutive month in January. The CPI now sits at 3%, above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% inflation. This ongoing inflationary pressure has led the Fed to reconsider its plans for multiple interest rate cuts in 2025. Additionally, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have added to market uncertainties.

Edited by James Rubin