TMC The Metals Company Stock Crashes 10% – Here’s Why the Bleeding Won’t Stop in August

Another month, another nosedive for TMC. The deep-sea mining play can't seem to catch a break—down 10% in July and still sliding as August heats up.

What's dragging TMC underwater?

Market sharks smell blood. Between regulatory headwinds and skepticism over seabed mineral economics, investors are bailing faster than a leaky submersible.

The real kicker?

Even crypto miners are laughing at TMC's 'volatility' now. At least Bitcoin's crashes come with memes and a cult following.

Until TMC proves it can monetize polymetallic nodules without tanking the ocean—or its stock price—this remains a high-risk bet for masochists and ESG contrarians.

Image source: Getty Images.

TMC stock lost ground amid U.S.-China trade developments

Last month, the TRUMP administration announced that it was lifting licensing requirements and export restrictions that effectively prohibited high-end artificial intelligence (AI) chips fromandfrom being sold to the Chinese market. Export restrictions and licensing requirements on semiconductor manufacturing equipment are also being lifted. The big shift on key tech exports to China represented a concession from President Donald Trump in order to increase the likelihood of getting serious negotiations for a trade deal initiated in the not-too-distant future.

While the Trump administration has seemingly been willing to cede some key ground when it comes to some of the U.S.'s competitive advantages in AI, it's hoping that the MOVE will help secure longer-term access to China's rare earth mineral supply. Adversarial relations between the U.S. and China have increased the strategic importance of domestic mineral sourcing operations and paved the way for TMC stock to see huge gains this year. With some recent steps toward trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, TMC's big rally has taken a bit of a breather.

TMC's share price has continued to slide in August

As of this writing, TMC stock is down roughly 10% in August's trading. While there haven't been any major, negative business-specific catalysts for the company, investors have continued to take profits and reduce exposure to the stock in light of uncertain trade dynamics. Despite some recent sell-offs, the company's share price is still up roughly 378% year to date as of this writing.

TMC now has a market capitalization of roughly $1.9 billion and is still in a pre-revenue state. While the company will still need to secure key permitting and other regulatory approvals in order to kick off its commercial seabed mining operations, there seems to be a good chance that increased government support for domestic rare earth mining projects will help facilitate TMC's operational launch and scaling.

Betting on that outcome is still a risky proposition, but an executive order signed by President Trump to expedite the review of permitting applications for seabed-mining bodes well for the company. While a trade deal with China could help alleviate near-term concerns about rare earth mineral sourcing, increasing domestic production capabilities will likely continue to be a priority along economic and national security lines.