Crypto Stocks Slump as Bitcoin, Ether Tumble

Coinbase, MicroStrategy and miners fell as equity markets declined worldwide.

Stock prices of crypto-related companies fell on Monday, as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) dropped to their lowest levels in months amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and concerns over the strength of the global economy.

Coinbase (COIN) fell more than 9% in U.S. pre-market trading. Software developer MicroStrategy, which has a policy of buying bitcoin and now holds over 1% of the total supply that will ever be issued, lost 13%. In Sweden, crypto asset manager CoinShares fell 7.5%.

After data from the U.S. indicated that the world’s largest economy may not be as robust as earlier thought, cryptocurrencies slid. On Friday, the Labor Department posted jobs figures that fell below expectations and an unemployment rate that was higher than forecast.

In the Middle East, tensions flared as Iran threatened to attack Israel following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of terror group Hamas, in Tehran last week. In 2018, the U.S. designated Haniyeh a terrorist.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell as much as 15% on Monday, dropping below $50,000 for the first time since February before recovering to trade around $52,000. Ether, the No. 2 cryptocurrency, fell for the seventh straight day, posting its biggest drop since May 2021.

The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the broader crypto market, dropped almost 20% and was 16% lower as of 09:00 UTC. Throughout Asia and Europe, equity markets also fell.

Miners declined in tandem with bitcoin. Both Marathon Digital (MARA) and Iren (IREN) lost nearly 14%, Hut 8 (HUT) fell 12%, and Riot Platforms (RIOT) lost 11%.

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Sheldon Reback, a CoinDesk news editor based in London, owns a small amount of ether.