Shares of public companies like Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Riot Platforms, and Marathon Digital, which are heavily invested in Bitcoin, saw a decline after the launch of 11 new spot Bitcoin ETF products in the US. These stocks had seen significant gains of up to 300% in the previous year as investors preferred them for indirect Bitcoin exposure ahead of potential spot ETF approvals.
With the introduction of Bitcoin ETF products, a trend towards profit-taking in these stocks is expected. However, some analysts believe interest in crypto-focused stocks will shift to the new spot Bitcoin funds.
According to TradingView, Riot, a Bitcoin mining company, experienced the largest drop of 15.8% to $13.09 on January 11, and further declined by 2.6% in pre-market trading on January 12. Despite this, the stock had pleased investors with a 137% increase in value in 2023.
Another crypto-focused company, Marathon, performed slightly better, decreasing by 12.6% to $22.40 at market close on January 11 and seeing an additional 3.3% drop in pre-market trading on January 12. MARA had achieved an impressive increase of approximately 293% last year. Other mining firms like CleanSpark and Iris Energy also saw declines of 7% and 6%, respectively.
Amidst these developments, Coinbase’s shares fell by 6.7% to $141.16 at market close on January 11 and dropped another 2.6% in pre-market trading the following morning. Coinbase’s shares had also seen an impressive rise of over 236% in the past year leading up to the Bitcoin ETF approvals.
MicroStrategy continues to lead as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with an average purchase price of $31,168 for 189,150 Bitcoins. The software company’s shares closed down 5.2% at $536.18 and fell 1.5% in pre-market trading today. Like other Bitcoin-related stocks, MicroStrategy had seen a significant 184% rise over the last 12 months.