SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 06: In this photo illustration, the Coinbase logo is displayed on a screen on June 06, 2023 in San Anselmo, California. The Securities And Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase for allegedly violating securities laws by acting as an exchange, a broker and a clearing agency without registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase just wrapped up its worst week of the year. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital tumbled 20%. A basket of crypto-related equities tracked by Schwab fell to its lowest level since February.
The industrywide selloff reflected growing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy and tracked a broader decline in prices of bitcoin, ether and risky assets in general. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 5.8% for the week, its worst performance since January 2022.
In addition to macro pressures, the calendar is doing crypto no favors. According to CoinGlass, September is historically a difficult trading month for crypto assets, with bitcoin notching an average loss of 4.8%. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a gauge of crypto market sentiment, is firmly in the “Extreme Fear” zone, indicating that investors are worried about price moves.
Bitcoin slipped to its lowest level since February, falling 4% in the last 24 hours to around $54,000.
Bitcoin and Ether prices, year-to-date
In a week shortened by the Labor Day holiday, Tuesday saw the steepest selloff in the broader market after weak manufacturing data stoked fears of an economic slowdown. The 11 U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds had their worst day in over four months after the report, as more than $287 million was collectively withdrawn from the ETFs.
The data was bad through the end of the week. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a cooldown in the labor market with August payrolls falling short of expectations.
Coinbase has one of its worst trading weeks this year.
“The recent U.S. labor market results acted as a moment of truth for risk-on assets like bitcoin, as the labor market is considered the main sector that may influence the Fed’s decision to cut rates this month,” said Leena ElDeeb, a research analyst with ETF issuer 21Shares, in an email.
The total market cap of crypto is down close to 30% from its 2024 peak of $2.67 trillion, and is now at $1.9 trillion. Altcoins like Solana’s SOL token, XRP and Cardano’s ADA all dropped more than 8% in the past week. Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, plunged 12% to around $2,200.
Crypto equities hit hardest
While it was a rough week for risky assets of all sorts, investors over-indexed in crypto stocks had it particularly bad.
Schwab Asset Management’s crypto-themed ETF (STCE), which includes MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital, Riot Blockchain,…
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