Bitcoin ETFs Are Pulling in Billions—But Crypto Stocks Are Taking a Beating

By Mat Di Salvo

Popular stocks that give investors Bitcoin exposure have continued their slide as the leading cryptocurrency’s price plunges following the highly anticipated launch of spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. 

The major stocks of public companies that hold Bitcoin—such as MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Coinbase—are down significantly over the past month. 

Such equities allow investors to have skin in the crypto game—without actually buying and digital assets themselves. But since Bitcoin, the largest and oldest digital coin, has taken a beating this month, so have crypto stocks. 

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), the largest public holder of BTC with 189,150 coins today worth $7.5 billion, is down 25% the past month, trading for $450.99 per share.

Meanwhile, electric car company Tesla’s stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) has dropped over 19%, and is priced at $207.83. Elon Musk’s tech firm owns over $386 million in BTC. 

And America’s biggest crypto exchange, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), which went public in 2021, has dropped even further—with a 29% dip over the past month. COIN is today trading for $121.34 per share. 

Many stocks—particularly mining stocks—typically do well or even better than the crypto industry when there is interest in the digital asset space.

And with Bitcoin’s price hurt so far in 2024, the biggest Bitcoin-related equities aren’t doing well. Canadian Bitcoin miner Hut, which trades on Toronto’s Stock Exchange as HUT, has dipped by more than 64% over the month. 

And American miner Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) is down over 41%, with stock priced at a little over $10. The miners are two of the biggest publicly traded Bitcoin holders. 

The price of Bitcoin has plunged so far this year—even with the launch of several Bitcoin ETFs. Analysts were split over whether the launch of the long-awaited investment vehicles, which allow investors to buy shares that track the price of the cryptocurrency, would lead to a bull run. 

But while it might be too early to say whether or not a flood of capital will lead to BTC’s price to go up, right now, the asset is suffering. And crypto stocks, it appears, will continue to be dragged down as a result.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

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