Coinbase, Robinhood Stocks Fall. The Crypto Rally Is Facing a Perfect Storm. — Barrons.com
By Callum KeownThe Bitcoin rally was going so well. But cryptocurrencies now face a perfect storm — higher oil prices, rising Treasury yields, and a strengthening U.S. dollar.That tricky triumvirate was putting pressure on digital assets early Wednesday. Bitcoin fell below $84,000, down around 3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. It's still up more than 30% over the past three months, though.Ethereum, the second largest crypto, slipped 4% to $2,599, while popular altcoin XRP was down 3.4% to $1.46.Brent crude prices neared $102 a barrel, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.325%, and the U.S. Dollar Index climbed to $102.28 — on pace for its highest close since April 9, 2025.All of that meant crypto-related stocks were among the worst performing ahead of the open. Coinbase Global and Robinhood Markets were both down around 2%, while Strategy fell more than 3%. Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies was down 4.7%.The moves come despite the odds of a rate increase later this month fading. Traders now see a 78% chance of the Federal Reserve holding rates steady, down from 62% a week ago, according to CME's FedWatch tool.That ought to be good news for digital assets, as higher interest rates tend to make alternative yielding assets relatively more attractive than cryptos. The Fed minutes later on Wednesday could yet change the picture on the path of rates."In the near term, I am watching how Treasury yields respond to the Fed minutes and whether the long end continues to move higher," Tesseract Group analyst Oliver Carding said."On Bitcoin, the immediate levels have shifted lower: a recovery through $86,500 to $87,000, where the market has recently struggled, would suggest buyers are absorbing the pressure from higher yields, oil and the dollar," he added.However, a break below $83,000 would open up a possible move toward $80,000, he noted.Write to Callum Keown at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.