Crypto stocks sink as spot volume plunges and bitcoin tumbles below $84,000

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Crypto stocks sink as spot volume plunges and bitcoin tumbles below $84,000 Bellwether crypto exchange Coinbase was lower for an 8th straight session on Thursday to its weakest level since May. By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Stephen Alpher Jan 29, 2026, 6:55 p.m. Make us preferred on Google (Anne Nygård/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk) What to know : Already under severe pressure in January, most crypto-related stocks fell even further Thursday as bitcoin fell back below $84,000. Spot crypto trading volumes halved from $1.7 trillion last year to $900 billion, reflecting cooling market enthusiasm and cautious investor sentiment amid macroeconomic uncertainties. Those bitcoin miners who have pivoted business plans to AI infrastructure and high-performance computing continued to outperform. Stocks tied to the crypto sector continued big January declines on Thursday as bitcoin declined 6% to below $84,000. Coinbase (COIN), the largest publicly traded crypto firm by market capitalization, is down 7% today, 17% year-to-date, and on track to register an eight-session losing streak, its longest since September 2024. At the current $195, the stock has retraced to its May 2025 level. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . Shares of competing crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI) are down 8% Thursday and 21% year-to-date, while crypto platform Bullish (BLSH) and Circle (CRCL) are down 16% and 20% this year, respectively. Read more: Here are key levels to watch as bitcoin plunges to $84,000 Aside from declines in crypto prices, exchanges are seeing lower spot trading volumes as the bear market lengthens. Data from TheTie shows that spot volume across exchanges in January was just $900 billion versus $1.7 billion seen a year prior. “Bitcoin has been stuck around the $85,000 level, and you can feel the hesitation in the market," Eric He, Community Angel Officer and Risk Control Adviser at crypto exchange LBank told CoinDesk. "With geopolitical tensions rising, investors are staying cautious," he added, "and that’s showing up across assets, not just crypto." “While stocks and commodities are pushing higher, crypto is clearly in a wait-and-see phase,” he concluded. Heading into February, analysts will be watching for signs of a rebound in trading volumes, easing geopolitical tensions, and broader signals from macroeconomic data that could signal a shift toward risk-on sentiment. AI pivot keeps miners afloat A port in the storm are those crypto companies that have pivoted away from crypto — namely the bitcoin miners who are using their energy and computing resources to cash in on data needs of the AI boom. Though down sharply in today's selloff, names like Hut 8 (HUT), IREN (IREN), CleanSpark (CLSK), and Cipher Mining (CIFR) are all posting year-to-date gains. Another outperformer is Mike Novogratz’s crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital (GLXY), also lower on Thursday but up strongly in 2026. The company has made a strong move into data centers, recently receiving approval from Texas’s grid operator ERCOT for expansion in that state. Coinbase Robinhood Crypto Stocks More For You Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture By CoinDesk Research Dec 30, 2025 Commissioned by Pudgy Penguins Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale. What to know : Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token. The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility. View Full Report More For You Ripple-linked XRP drops 5%, opening downside risk toward $1.70 By Shaurya Malwa 1 hour ago Traders are watching $1.80 as near-term support, with $1.87–$1.90 now the key resistance zone. What to know : XRP dropped about 5 percent from $1.91 to near $1.80 as bitcoin’s pullback sparked broad risk-off selling across high-beta tokens. The slide accelerated once XRP broke below key support around $1.87 on heavy volume, erasing last week’s gains before buyers stepped in near the $1.78–$1.80 zone. Traders now view $1.80 as a crucial support level, with a sustained move back above roughly $1.87–$1.90 needed to signal a corrective pullback rather than the start of a deeper decline. 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