Cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks started lower on Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s unexpectedly hawkish stance on Wednesday overshadowed encouraging developments regarding trade with China.
Overnight, Presidents Trump and Xi met, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned that the U.S. government is halting plans to add more Chinese companies to a blacklist. He also highlighted an agreement for China to significantly increase its purchases of U.S. soybeans this year and beyond.
While such headlines typically boost traditional and crypto markets, it seems the positive news was already factored into the prices.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement yesterday that additional rate cuts are not guaranteed continued to unsettle the markets, leading to an increase in bond yields and the dollar.
Bitcoin dropped below Wednesday’s lows, sinking past $108,000 to its lowest price in over a week. It has decreased by 4.4% over the last 24 hours and is nearly 8% down from Monday’s peak of $116,000.
Ethereum’s ether fell 5% to drop below $3,800. Major altcoins , solana , and fell 5%-7% throughout the day.
Crypto-related stocks reflected the broader market’s decline. Shares of Coinbase (COIN), which is set to announce its third-quarter earnings after market close, were down almost 3%. Stocks of MicroStrategy (MSTR), Robinhood (HOOD), and Circle (CRCL) dropped 2%, while Gemini (GEMI) faced a steeper decline, falling nearly 5%. Miners also saw a downturn.
Amid a busy earnings season, the Nasdaq decreased by 1%, with Meta plunging 12% due to disappointing results, whereas Google rose by 5% following better-than-expected earnings. The S&P 500 saw only a minor decline, while the DJIA managed to stay positive for the session.
October lets bulls down
As October draws to a close, crypto traders’ hopes for a bullish month, often referred to as “Uptober,” are likely being dashed. Currently, Bitcoin is down more than 5% for the month, marking its worst October performance since 2014.
With the crypto market in correction mode, the excitement around digital asset treasuries (DAT), which captured Wall Street’s attention earlier this year as public companies transitioned to purchasing cryptos by selling shares and debt, has continued to fade. Many once-prominent stocks have fallen below the net asset value of their underlying holdings.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) has reached a new low since the tariff concerns in April, currently trading at $268, down over 50% from its all-time high in November 2024, which includes a significant decline of about 40% since mid-July. The company will report its third-quarter earnings after the market close today. MSTR is currently trading at a 1.33x premium to its net asset value (mNAV), the lowest for this metric since February 2024.
KindlyMD (NAKA), another BTC treasury, is down 6%, trading just below $0.90 and at risk of being delisted from Nasdaq. Meanwhile, Strive (ASST) is trading below its $1.35 warrant price at $1.30, presenting a notable short-term challenge for further gains.
Thursday also saw a new participant enter the DAT arena, with SEGG Media Corporation (SEGG) announcing a $300 million digital asset strategy aimed at “generating sustainable on-chain yield, accelerating tokenization across sports and entertainment, and embedding blockchain infrastructure into its global media ecosystem.” Just a few months ago, such a headline would have prompted significant gains for the small-cap company, but following the burst of the DAT bubble, shares have dropped 3% on Thursday.
