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Cryptocurrency-related stocks tumbled sharply at the Monday open, echoing Bitcoin's retreat below $42,000.

Bitcoin retreated from its recently-set highs and dipped below $42,000 on Monday, dragging crypto-related stocks into a sea of red. Shares of crypto-related stocks like Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), Marathon Digital (Nasdaq: MARA), MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR), and Riot Blockchain (Nasdaq: RIOT) saw notable declines at the opening bell. 
 

RIOT, MARA, MSTR, and COIN React to Bitcoin Dip

After leaping to a new 18-month high of over $44,000 earlier this month, Bitcoin gave up some of its gains on Monday. The flagship cryptocurrency retreated to around $41,900 on Monday, losing over 4.3% in the past 24 hours.

Multiple factors contributed to the downswing, with on-chain indicators pointing to an upside exhaustion among traders. With most Bitcoin investments now sitting atop unrealized gains, sellers scrambled to take profits at current market tops. 

Along with Bitcoin, crypto-related stocks also entered red territory on Monday. Notably, the largest publicly-listed BTC miners, including Riot Blockchain and Marathon Digital, both fell over 9% at the market open. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy fell around 5.1%, similar to the decline that overperforming Coinbase saw at the opening bell.
 

Bitcoin-Stocks Correlation Lowest Since 2020

While cryptocurrency-related stocks mimicked Bitcoin’s decline, the broad equity market continued its relentless rally on the week’s first trading day. 

The tech-oriented Nasdaq-100 rose around 0.26% at the open, and the DJIA climbed 0.1%, extending their multi-week rally. Only the S&P 500, the benchmark market index, was trading flat at the time of writing.

But the divergence in performance between stock and crypto markets is no surprise. The 30-day correlation coefficient for Bitcoin and MSCI’s gauge of global stocks recently fell to minus 0.23 – the most negative since the 2020 pandemic. For perspective, the coefficient’s value of 1 suggests that assets are in sync, while minus one would indicate they’re advancing in opposite directions. 

Despite today’s dip, the sentiment in the broader crypto market remains optimistic, primarily due to growing convictions that the approval of the long-awaited spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is imminent. Furthermore, easing macroeconomic pressures like tumbling yields and cooling inflation also increased investors’ appetite for risk assets. 

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