Crypto Stocks Slide as Bitcoin Drops Below $84K, Spot Volume Halves YoY

Crypto-linked equities extended January losses Thursday as bitcoin fell 6% to under $84,000, with Coinbase (COIN) down 7% and on track for its longest losing streak since September 2024. At $195, COIN has retraced to May 2025 levels. Gemini (GEMI) dropped 8%, while Bullish (BLSH) and Circle (CRCL) are down 16% and 20% YTD, respectively. Spot trading volume across exchanges plunged to $900B in January 2026 from $1.7T a year earlier, signaling deepening bear market fatigue. Eric He of LBank noted investor hesitation amid geopolitical risks and cross-asset caution. Analysts await February catalysts: volume rebound, macro shifts, or risk-on sentiment revival. Outperformers include AI-pivoting miners Hut 8 (HUT), IREN, CleanSpark (CLSK), Cipher (CIFR), and Galaxy Digital (GLXY), which gained ERCOT approval for Texas data center expansion.