Coinbase, crypto-related stocks buoyant as traditional markets slide

Crypto-related stocks from Coinbase to Hut 8 are trading higher, bucking the trend for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which are sliding. 

Bitcoin has been trading firmly above $19,000 over the past hour, with cryptocurrency and digital asset firms reaping the benefits.

Coinbase is up nearly 5%, with Silvergate advancing 3%. MicroStrategy rose 4.8% at around 10:40 a.m. EST. Hut 8 advanced 9%, and Marathon Digital rose 14%.

"We're absolutely seeing some surprising positive performance in crypto assets," said Stephane Ouellette, CEO at FRNT Financial. "The top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap are all up over 10% in the last 7-days, some up well over 20%. Furthermore, many of those equities have significant short interests that are likely contributors to the accelerated moves." 

BTCUSD chart by TradingView

The S&P 500 was down 0.2%, while the Nasdaq was marginally down. 

"Crypto markets are diverging from equities and continuing their upward trend with bitcoin leading the charge forward," GSR said in a market update. "U.S. equities are moving lower, with financials leading the plunge lower behind challenging bank earnings."