A broad sell-off in technology stocks has weighed further on cryptocurrency-focused companies, highlighting a growing divergence between digital asset stocks and the broader U.S. stock market.
Coinbase (COIN) and Circle (CRCL) shares are down 69% and 72%, respectively, from all-time highs. These declines exceed declines seen at several major technology companies, including Oracle (ORCL), Salesforce (CRM), Netflix (NFLX) and Palantir (PLTR), which are down between 48% and 57% from their peaks, according to data from The Kobeissi Letter.
By comparison, the S&P 500 large-cap index is down just 3.5% from its recent high.
Source: Kobeissi’s letter
The decline in technology stock prices reflects growing concerns that advances in artificial intelligence could disrupt existing business models in various parts of the sector. Semiconductor stocks generally performed better despite periods of volatility, while cryptocurrency stocks remained under pressure amid broader weakness in digital asset markets and uneven progress on comprehensive cryptocurrency market structure legislation in the United States.
Negative sentiment towards the sector has intensified after Bitcoin fell below $60,000 this week, extending its decline to more than 54% from its October peak. Ether has also come under intense selling pressure, recently falling to around $1,500, or about 69% below last year’s high.
Bear market conditions also weighed on corporate profits, with Coinbase reporting first-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations. Revenue was down 21% from the previous quarter, and the company reported a loss of $1.49 per share, compared to analyst expectations of a profit of $0.27 per share.
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Analysts downgrade cryptocurrency market outlook for 2026 despite forceful institutional adoption
The prolonged downturn in the cryptocurrency market has prompted analysts at 21Shares to lower their expectations for 2026, arguing that digital asset prices have significantly underperformed industry fundamentals.
In its mid-year outlook, 21shares said institutional adoption continues to strengthen, particularly in the stablecoin, tokenization and forecasting markets. However, the asset manager argued that Bitcoin’s four-year market cycle remains the dominant force driving cryptocurrency prices.
According to the report, rising institutional ownership helped soften Bitcoin’s drawdowns but did not fundamentally change its cyclical behavior.
Bitcoin’s price action this year suggests that the four-year cycle remains intact. Source: 21 shares
“Bitcoin’s cycle is evolving, but it hasn’t broken down yet,” 21Shares said, backtracking on its earlier prediction that the four-year cycle has become obsolete.
Related: The exodus of Ethereum Foundation leadership continues with the departure of a director
