Crypto-Focused Companies Suffer Sharper Declines Than Broader Tech Sector

A broad selloff in technology stocks has weighed even more heavily on crypto-focused companies, highlighting a growing divergence between digital asset equities and the broader US stock market. Shares of Coinbase (COIN) and Circle (CRCL) have fallen 69% and 72%, respectively, from their all-time highs. Those declines exceed the drawdowns seen in 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 large-cap S&P 500 Index has retreated just 3.5% from its recent high.

The pullback in technology stocks reflects mounting concerns that advances in artificial intelligence could disrupt existing business models across parts of the sector. Semiconductor stocks have generally held up better despite bouts of volatility, while crypto-related equities have remained under pressure amid broader weakness in digital asset markets and uneven progress on comprehensive crypto market structure legislation in the United States. Negative sentiment toward the sector has intensified after Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $60,000 this week, extending its decline to more than 54% from its October peak. Ether (ETH) has also come under heavy selling pressure, recently falling to around $1,500, roughly 69% below last year's high. Bear market conditions have also weighed on corporate earnings, with Coinbase reporting first-quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations. Revenue fell 21% from the previous quarter, while the company posted a loss of $1.49 per share, versus analysts' expectations for a profit of $0.27 per share.

Related: Crypto Biz: The cost of stacking sats Analysts downgrade crypto market’s 2026 outlook despite strong institutional adoption The crypto market’s prolonged downturn has prompted analysts at 21Shares to lower their expectations for 2026, arguing that digital asset prices have significantly underperformed the industry's underlying fundamentals. In its midyear outlook, 21shares said institutional adoption continues to strengthen, particularly in stablecoins, tokenization and prediction markets. However, the asset manager argued that Bitcoin’s four-year market cycle remains the dominant force driving crypto prices. According to the report, growing institutional ownership has helped moderate Bitcoin’s drawdowns but has not fundamentally altered its cyclical behavior. Bitcoin’s price action this year suggests the four-year cycle remains intact.

“Bitcoin’s cycle is evolving, but it has not broken yet,” 21Shares said, walking back its earlier forecast that the four-year cycle had become obsolete.