Coinbase, Circle, and Robinhood have landed on a list of 20 major tech equities experiencing steep drawdowns from recent highs, with individual stock drops ranging between 40% and 56%. Market commentary group The Kobeissi Letter highlighted the trend, pointing out that broad equity indexes remain elevated primarily due to heavy weightings in a small cluster of mega-cap technology firms.
Crypto Equities Suffer Heavy Pullbacks
According to data published by The Kobeissi Letter, Coinbase has experienced the third-largest drop on the 20-company list, plunging 56% from its 52-week high of $361 to close at approximately $162 on October 28. The sell-off follows broader pressure on tech shares, as well as scrutiny after 7 Wall Street banks cut Coinbase stock price targets following its third-quarter earnings report and a data security incident involving analytics vendor Amplitude.
Circle and Robinhood have also registered severe declines. Circle stock finished at $82, down 44% from its yearly high of $140. Robinhood dropped 3.3% in recent trading to settle near $91, representing a 40% decline from its $150 peak. The only companies on Kobeissi’s list suffering worse drawdowns than Coinbase were AppLovin (-65%) and CoreWeave (-57%), while other tech names like Oracle (-50%), SanDisk (-42%), Seagate (STX) (-39%), Alphabet (-28%), IBM (-25%), Micron (-24%), and Meta (-22%) also logged notable losses.
Index Concentration Masks Broad Weakness
An earlier analysis from The Kobeissi Letter on October 15 underscored that 84% of S&P 500 components were sitting at least 10% below their all-time highs, with 59% down by 20% or more. The index's resilience has been driven by extreme concentration, as just 10 stocks generated 70% of the S&P 500's total gain since its March 30 low when it fell below 6,400.
Despite stock weakness, both Robinhood and Circle have continued expanding operations. Robinhood recently partnered with Ripple on a deal covering treasury management, institutional settlement, financing, and the distribution of the RLUSD stablecoin. Meanwhile, Circle launched its Arc blockchain in September alongside more than 100 institutional and crypto partners, selecting USDC for transaction fee payments. Conversely, Coinbase clarified that a third-party security incident at Amplitude exposed customer contact information, though Coinbase's internal systems were not breached.
Key Takeaways
- Coinbase (-56%), Circle (-44%), and Robinhood (-40%) sit among tech's biggest losers in the current drawdown.
- AppLovin (-65%) and CoreWeave (-57%) led the 20-stock decline list, while Meta (-22%) suffered the smallest loss.
- 59% of S&P 500 components are down at least 20%, masked by top 10 stocks generating 70% of index gains since March 30.
- Coinbase closed at $162 on Oct. 28 against a $361 peak, Robinhood reached $91, and Circle ended at $82.
Why It Matters
The steep pullbacks in crypto-exposed stocks highlight a growing divergence between corporate execution and public market equity pricing. While firms like Robinhood and Circle continue expanding infrastructure and enterprise partnerships during the downturn, public markets are heavily penalizing growth and crypto-sensitive assets. If mega-cap tech stocks eventually experience profit-taking, the broader equity market could face heightened volatility unless participation broadens into beaten-down sector leaders.
