Shares of blockchain infrastructure company Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) fell 6.1% in the afternoon session after the stock pulled back following a combination of regulatory updates in the U.K., a cautious analyst initiation, and weakness in the broader cryptocurrency market. The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) banned some of the company’s advertisements, calling them “irresponsible” for trivializing the risks of trading cryptocurrency. Compounding the negative sentiment, investment firm Baird initiated coverage of Coinbase with a Neutral rating, citing concerns over weakening trading activity and ongoing regulatory risks.
This backdrop of company-specific issues was worsened by a downturn in the broader crypto market, as Bitcoin’s price fell after struggling to maintain its value. This weakness was linked to a more cautious Federal Reserve stance. Coinbase’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 49 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock dropped 4.4% on the news that the U.S. announced potential tariffs on several European countries. The sell-off was a reaction to news that the White House planned to impose a 10% tariff on imports from eight European nations, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, starting February 1. Reports indicated the tariffs were intended to pressure Denmark over the potential sale of Greenland to the U.S. and could rise to 25% if a deal was not reached. The announcement caused a significant downturn in U.S. stocks, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones falling more than 1.4% as investors returned from a holiday weekend and reacted to the heightened trade uncertainty.
The downturn was further exacerbated by a spike in Treasury yields. Higher rates particularly hurt growth stocks such as tech names since investors must discount financials further out in the future back to the present. Coinbase is down 16.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $197.72 per share, it is trading 52.9% below its 52-week high of $419.78 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Coinbase’s shares at the IPO in April 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $602.28.
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