Here's a funny thing about 2025: almost everything went up. The S&P 500 is closing in on its third straight year of 20% gains. Gold and silver hit new all-time highs. International stocks actually beat their American cousins for once. With the Federal Reserve expected to keep cutting rates, you'd think the party would continue into 2026.

But there's one asset class that apparently didn't get the invitation: cryptocurrencies. Despite strong investor risk appetite and a crypto-friendly administration, Bitcoin is down 2% year-to-date. Worse, it's tumbled more than 20% after hitting a fresh all-time high above $125,000 in October. And when Bitcoin catches a cold, the companies that bet big on crypto get pneumonia.

Cryptocurrency drawdowns tend to be brutal, and the public companies running crypto strategies are feeling exceptional pain right now. If Bitcoin keeps sliding, these five stocks could have a lot further to fall.

Strategy Inc.: The Premium Has Left the Building

Strategy Inc. (MSTR) pioneered the Bitcoin Treasury strategy, and for a while, it seemed like genius. CEO Michael Saylor pivoted his company (formerly known as MicroStrategy) from software to Bitcoin more than five years ago, and the initial results were spectacular. The stock didn't just follow Bitcoin higher; it rocketed far beyond what the underlying Bitcoin holdings would justify.

Investors were essentially paying $2 or $3 for every $1 of Bitcoin that Strategy would buy. Why? Because there was simply nowhere else for institutional investors to gain crypto exposure. MSTR shares blew past their Dot-Com-era all-time high, leaping from $40 to $475 in less than a year.

Then reality caught up. Now that Bitcoin ETFs are easily accessible to anyone with a brokerage account, the MSTR premium is vanishing. What was once a one-of-a-kind Bitcoin play has morphed into a debt-laden value trap. The stock has nearly been cut in half over the last 12 months, including a 20% decline in just the previous month.

The technical picture looks grim. The price has tumbled below both the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages, and the Relative Strength Index shows bearish momentum has taken over. If Bitcoin continues dropping, Strategy could face an ugly choice: liquidate Bitcoin at depressed prices to meet debt obligations, or issue new shares and dilute existing stockholders. Neither option is appealing.

Bitfarms Ltd.: All-In on Bitcoin Mining

Bitfarms Ltd. (BITF) is a global Bitcoin mining operator founded in 2017, sporting a $1.8 billion market cap and $193 million in annual revenue. Here's what makes Bitfarms different from many competitors: it was slow to pivot any of its massive data center infrastructure toward AI or high-performance computing clients. Instead, it doubled down on pure Bitcoin mining as its primary operation.

The company recently announced plans to convert one mining center for AI GPUs, but that facility won't be operational until late 2026. Translation: Bitfarms has another year of depending almost entirely on Bitcoin mining to fund operations. As the economics of Bitcoin mining have grown harsher, that's become a problem.

BITF shares have entered a drawdown following a parabolic run that topped out in October. The stock shows all the warning signs of a rally gone wrong: sudden loss of momentum, prices quickly breaking through former support areas. Now that momentum is trending downward, the 50-day simple moving average could act as resistance, especially if Bitcoin continues to wobble and the company's primary revenue stream flattens out.

Hut 8 Corp.: When Good News Isn't Enough

Hut 8 Corp. (HUT) spun off a majority of its Bitcoin mining operations to Trump-owned American Bitcoin (ABTC) earlier this year. You'd think that would provide some insulation, but both companies are under pressure following the expiry of the lockup on American Bitcoin's shares.

Here's the strange part: Hut 8 delivered a massive Q3 2025 earnings beat on November 3rd. But HUT shares appeared to have topped out anyway, and Bitcoin's declining price is weighing heavily on the stock. When good earnings can't lift a stock, that tells you something about market sentiment.

The chart reveals a double top that formed in October, before the earnings beat, suggesting the positive news was already priced in. Bitcoin's spot price appears to control momentum in HUT shares now. The 50-day simple moving average had been a reliable support level, but it broke down and now acts as resistance to any upward movement. The Relative Strength Index confirms the weakening uptrend, which likely caps the stock until Bitcoin reverses course.

Bakkt Holdings Inc.: The Custody Problem

Bakkt Holdings (BKKT) isn't a Bitcoin miner or treasury company. It's a digital asset platform offering custody and trading services to institutional clients. The company's custody services drive its primary business, but as trading volume begins to slow, the crypto boom is clearly fading.

The numbers tell the story: Bakkt's revenue has declined for four consecutive quarters. With Bitcoin slowing down, further declines in trading volume could hammer the company's bottom line into 2026. When your business model depends on active crypto trading, a prolonged Bitcoin slump is an existential threat.

BKKT shares enjoyed a sharp climb in late September when cryptocurrencies briefly rallied, but the momentum is fading hard. The share price declined for 11 of 12 days in early October, pushing the stock below the 50-day simple moving average and sending the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator into freefall. The decline has accelerated recently, with the 200-day simple moving average failing to stop the drawdown and now serving as resistance.

Bakkt faces both fundamental and technical headwinds. The company likely needs a massive reversal in crypto prices to restore its revenue streams and get the stock moving in the right direction again.

Core Scientific Inc.: Diversification Isn't Saving It

Core Scientific (CORZ) operates data centers designed for Bitcoin mining but has diversified into GPU hosting using its high-performance computing services. The stock has been a strong performer since its public market debut in January 2024, climbing from under $3 to $18 in less than a year.

But despite tailwinds from both the AI and crypto markets, Core Scientific has faced diminishing revenue since early 2024. Losses are narrowing, which is positive, but declines in digital asset revenue are weighing on the stock. It's down 13% in the last month alone.

Drawdowns aren't unusual for small- to mid-cap tech stocks, but CORZ shares are approaching a critical level that should signal the strength of the downward momentum. The action is happening around the 50-day simple moving average. After a steep drop below this level, buyers stepped in to push the stock back up against the 50-day once more.

The next few trading sessions should provide insight into where the trend goes next. A rejection at this level would signal more downside ahead. A breakthrough would suggest buyers are regaining control. Either way, Bitcoin's direction will likely determine which scenario plays out.

The Bottom Line

These five stocks share a common thread: their fortunes are tied closely to Bitcoin's price action. When Bitcoin was soaring toward $125,000, these companies looked like rocket ships. Now that it's pulled back more than 20%, the cracks are showing.

Strategy is dealing with disappearing premiums and dangerous debt levels. Bitfarms put all its eggs in the Bitcoin mining basket just as mining economics turned harsh. Hut 8 can't catch a bid even with strong earnings. Bakkt's revenue keeps declining as trading volume dries up. And Core Scientific's diversification into AI hosting hasn't been enough to offset weakening digital asset revenue.

If Bitcoin stabilizes and starts climbing again, these stocks could recover quickly. But if the crypto winter deepens, investors holding these names should prepare for more pain ahead.