Karla Barker 
Crypto-related stocks saw a broad downturn on Wednesday, with exchanges bearing the brunt of the selling pressure. The decline followed a disappointing earnings report from Robinhood and rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.
Robinhood (HOOD), the digital brokerage popular among retail crypto traders, plunged nearly 14% after reporting a 47% drop in crypto-related revenue during the first quarter. The sharp decline in one of the sector’s key players raised concerns about overall demand for digital asset trading.
The negative sentiment quickly spread across the industry. Coinbase (COIN), the largest U.S. crypto exchange, fell 8%, while Bullish (BLSH), an institutional-focused exchange and parent company of CoinDesk, lost a similar amount. Gemini (GEMI), the exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, dropped 6%.
Miners and bitcoin holders also hit
Bitcoin miners were not spared either. Riot Platforms (RIOT) and MARA (MARA) both slid between 6% and 7%. Strategy (MSTR), the corporate bitcoin heavyweight formerly known as MicroStrategy, was down 4%. These losses were more severe than the decline in bitcoin itself, which slipped just 0.5% over the past 24 hours to trade near $76,000.
Geopolitical shocks add to pressure
Adding to the market’s unease, President Donald Trump reportedly rejected an Iranian proposal to end the naval blockade and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. According to Axios, Iran had offered to reopen the critical oil shipping route in exchange for delaying nuclear negotiations. Trump instead chose to maintain the blockade until a broader nuclear deal is reached.
The news sent oil prices surging 6%, with West Texas Intermediate crude topping $100 a barrel. The move reflected growing worries that energy supply chains in the Middle East could remain under pressure for some time.
Fed meeting and tech earnings in focus
Despite the turmoil in crypto and energy markets, broader U.S. equities held up relatively well. The Nasdaq was down just 0.35% in afternoon trading.
Investors are now turning their attention to the Federal Reserve meeting, which is expected to end with no change in interest rates. This will be Jerome Powell’s final meeting as chairman, and markets are looking for clues about the future direction of monetary policy from the accompanying statement and his press conference.
After the close, a series of major tech companies—including Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT)—are scheduled to report earnings. Traders will be watching closely for signals about AI-related spending, which has become a key indicator for the broader technology sector.