Bitcoin drops, crypto stocks down across the board as Coinbase slides 14%

Cryptocurrency prices dropped across the board as the market adjusts to speculation that the U.S. may restrict crypto staking. 

Bitcoin was trading at $21,890 by 5:10 p.m. EST, down almost 5% over the past day, according to TradingView data. 

BTCUSD chart by TradingView

Ether fell 6.4% over the past 24 hours, trading at about $1,544. Binance’s BNB dropped 6.5%, while Cardano’s ADA fell 6.7%. Dog-themed memecoins experienced sharp sell-offs, with dogecoin down 8.4% and shiba inu losing 10.7%.

Crypto Stocks

Crypto stocks plunged heavily today in response to speculation that the U.S. may restrict crypto staking. Last night, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said it would be a “terrible path” for the U.S. if it were to restrict crypto staking.

Coinbase was down more than 14% on the day, to under $60 per share. 

The drop is primarily a result of Armstrong’s comments, John Todaro of Needham told The Block. “While staking is still a small portion of COIN’s overall revenue today, it is an important piece to diversify revenue away from trading and is seen as a potentially high-growth vertical,” he said.

Staking could be worth up to $414 million this year, Needham said in a report. “Investors now have to start pricing in the possibility that this future revenue vertical gets removed if regulation comes down strict enough to shut the product down,” the report said.

Crypto-friendly bank Silvergate was down, too, dropping 9.3% to $15.70. Jack Dorsey’s Block shed 6.1% as it traded down to below $77. MicroStrategy dipped 9.7% to $249.

Argo Blockchain shed 12%. CEO Peter Wall announced his resignation earlier in the day. 

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