Crypto stocks split as year ends

Core Insights - The crypto stock trade has divided into three categories: operators, holders, and digital asset exchanges, with operators, particularly Bitcoin miners, experiencing significant gains due to AI partnerships [1][2] - Bitcoin miners like Iris Energy, Cipher, and Hut 8 have seen stock increases of 200% to 300% as they adapt to high-performance computing [1] - Digital asset exchanges such as Coinbase and eToro have struggled, remaining in the red, while Robinhood has emerged as an outlier with a 200% year-to-date increase [2][3] Operators vs. Holders - Operators have retrofitted their businesses to profit without needing Bitcoin to reach $100K, focusing on high-performance computing [2] - Digital asset treasuries, where companies hold significant amounts of cryptocurrency, have seen a decline of nearly 50% in strategy effectiveness [3] Market Performance - Mara Holdings has dropped 45%, while Tomley's Bit Mine immersion has plummeted 80% from its peak [4] - Peter Thiel-backed ETHZilla has seen a drastic fall from over $100 to $5 [4] Regulatory Concerns - MSCI is considering reclassifying crypto holding companies as investment funds, which could lead to passive index funds needing to sell, creating liquidity risks for treasury names [4] Public Listings and Market Sentiment - There is a decrease in incentives for public listings in the crypto space, with many companies previously using reverse mergers to go public [5][6] - Although additional public listings are anticipated, the current market sentiment is less favorable compared to earlier in the year [6]