Bitcoin Plunges to Levels - Crypto Stocks in Freefall

Bitcoin just flashed back to prices not seen since 2024, dragging publicly traded crypto companies down with it. The correlation is brutal and undeniable.

The Domino Effect

When Bitcoin sneezes, the entire crypto sector catches a cold. This isn't just digital asset volatility—it's a systemic tremor shaking the foundations of companies built around this ecosystem. Stock charts for crypto miners, exchanges, and service providers are painting a grim, red picture.

Beyond the Hype Cycle

Forget the moon-shot predictions for a second. This pullback exposes the raw, leveraged interconnectivity between the asset and its adjacent equities. It's a stark reminder that in crypto-land, traditional stock performance can be held hostage by blockchain volatility—a fact that would give any old-school portfolio manager heartburn.

A Brutal Reality Check

The sell-off cuts through narratives and hype. It bypasses talk of institutional adoption and long-term holds, delivering a simple, harsh message: risk is still very much on the table. When the flagship asset stumbles, the entire supporting cast falls over.

It's the financial equivalent of building a skyscraper on a foundation of speculative tech—impressive until the ground shifts. For now, the market isn't buying the story; it's selling the news.

Key Takeaways

• The price of bitcoin briefly fell below $73,000 today, dropping to levels unseen since Nov. 2024.
• Crypto linked stocks including Coinbase, Strategy, Circle and Gemini have fallen at least 15% in the last five trading days.

Crypto can't catch a break.

Bitcoin hit new lows for the year on Tuesday, briefly breaking below $73,000 to levels not since November 2024, according to data firm Messari. Crypto-linked stocks including Coinbase (COIN), Strategy (MSTR), Circle (CRCL) and Gemini (GEMI) swooned alongside the cryptocurrency, each of them notching declines of at least 15% over the past five trading days.

When the crypto complex will get a reprieve is anybody's guess. Some experts thought there might be a "value zone" in the mid-$70,000s; the coin recently changed hands above $76,000. Tuesday's swoon coincided with a sell-off in risk assets, with big U.S. tech stocks diving, weighing on major broad market indexes. Meanwhile, gold and silver prices rebounded.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

Bitcoin dropped to longtime lows today on a down day for risk assets, though it managed to rebound around the time of the stock market's close. That may offer some relief to crypto investors worried about the slide in the leading currency, though some analysts think it can fall considerably further.

CNBC's Jim Cramer made a direct plea to bitcoin whale Michael Saylor and Strategy, the company he founded, to step in and stop the bleed.

"Memo to Michael Saylor, we think that $73,802 is the line in the sand for bitcoin. Time to do another zero coupon convert and stop this decline," he said on social media, referring to a type of financial transaction Strategy has used to fund the company's Bitcoin purchases. (Strategy has continued to buy bitcoin lately, the company said earlier this week.)

Related Education

Guesses as to where bitcoin prices go next this month aren't all that optimistic. Bettors on a related Polymarket events contract recently placed the highest probability, or 48%, on bitcoin prices hitting $70,000 or below.

A shorter-term events contract on Kalshi—"Bitcoin price on Friday at 5pm EST?"—doesn't imply good news for crypto investors either: Bettors place the highest probability on bitcoin prices ending below where they are now by the end of February.