In brief

• Crypto-linked stocks surged early in 2025 as Bitcoin broke $100,000, lifting miners, treasury firms, and crypto-adjacent businesses in a wave of speculative inflows.
• Midyear volatility exposed sharp divergence, with narrative-driven high-fliers giving back gains as investors shifted focus to funding quality, dilution risk, and underlying asset value.
• By year’s end, companies with more durable business models held up better, setting expectations that execution and fundamentals, not pure crypto exposure, will drive performance in 2026.

This year opened with a surge of validation for crypto-linked equities. 

As Bitcoin again broke above $100,000 in January, stocks linked to digital assets—either as treasuries or via direct crypto businesses and mining firms—reaped the rewards. Hut 8 Corp. (HUT) and Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT) notched double-digit rallies, leading the charge.

Bullish momentum followed Bitcoin's recovery from a late 2024 correction, as the digital asset reclaimed its previous all-time high and set a new peak near $109,000 on January 20, according to CoinGecko data.

This year was marked by validation and volatility for crypto equities. Early euphoria propelled narrative-driven names to astronomical gains, only for a mid-year shift to usher in a phase of sector differentiation. 

The winners that held their ground by December were those that coupled crypto exposure with more sustainable models, setting the stage for a 2026 market where fundamentals are poised to take the lead.

Big start, soft ending

The bullish momentum set the stage for a year of extreme divergence, in which narrative-driven bets took center stage.

As macroeconomic and geopolitical narratives faltered and turned increasingly defensive, the leaderboard reshaped, tempering market expectations amid increasing uncertainty.

The year’s returns highlight a stark divergence, driven by shifting market narratives. Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion (BMNR) was the runaway leader, while Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) significantly underperformed its Bitcoin-proxy peers.

The top-performing crypto stocks of 2025 were as follows, as of December 15:

1. BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc. (BMNR): +318%
2. Hut 8 Corp. (HUT): +83%
3. Galaxy Digital Inc. (GLXY): +26%
4. Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT): +24%
5. Sharplink Gaming Inc. (SBET): +14.7%
6. Metaplanet Inc. (3350): +13%

These final figures, however, mask the explosive rallies that defined the first half. 

By late May, SBET had increased by more than 870%. BMNR soared over 1,800% by early July, and Metaplanet had rallied over 420% by mid-June. 

The early narrative was powerful: companies amassing Bitcoin treasuries or pivoting to crypto exposure with altcoins were rewarded with speculative, high-momentum inflows.

BitMine is the prime example. By late June 2025, the stock was down 41%, but the announcement of an Ethereum treasury sent the stock flying nearly 4,000% from $4.07 to $161 in less than a week.

“BMNR and MSTR sit at opposite extremes because the market treats them as very different crypto proxies,” Ryan Lee, chief analyst at crypto exchange Bitget, told Decrypt. 

BitMine’s surge was fueled by its pivot to a “crypto treasury and yield story,” while Strategy—which acquired over 10,000 BTC in 2025—traded as a pure “leveraged Bitcoin balance sheet,” Lee said.

Mid-year, investor attention shifted to mining and infrastructure names such as Bitfarms, HIVE Digital, and Bitdeer Technologies. Their performance was directly tied to the hash price—a measure of mining revenue—which swung with Bitcoin’s own corrections. A sustained rise in network security supported that trend. 

Climbing the mountain

The global Bitcoin hash rate climbed alongside the price from April through October, ultimately hitting a new all-time high of 1.15 quintillion hashes per second on October 20. That peak came roughly two weeks after Bitcoin had reached its cycle high of $126,080 on October 6, showcasing the mining sector’s expansion during the bull run.

A major thematic shift toward institutional acceptance, marked by the S&P 500’s inclusion of companies such as Coinbase, even as regulatory debates created valuation gaps between crypto-native and traditional tech stocks, was evident in this period.

Then, the market’s psychology pivoted decisively in the second half. The shift occurred as Bitcoin entered a new downtrend, falling nearly 30% from its October high to trade below $90,000 for much of November and December.

“Early in the year, investors rewarded crypto-linked equities for narrative exposure and rapid balance-sheet expansion,” Lee said. “In H2, as crypto momentum cooled, the focus moved to funding quality, dilution risk, and underlying NAV.”

That fundamental repricing hit the early high-flyers. SharpLink Gaming (SBET) and Metaplanet saw their massive gains contract significantly by December.

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) was not immune.

Its stock rose by 360% in under three weeks following a successful IPO, reaching a record high of $298 on June 23. The stablecoin issuer's stock has declined 70% from its peak, trading at approximately $79 by December 15.

“Circle’s early 2025 rally was driven by strong IPO momentum and optimism around stablecoin adoption. As the year progressed, that enthusiasm gave way to valuation discipline,” Lee noted, pointing to reassessments of its interest-rate sensitivity and USDC growth expectations.

Rachel Lin, CEO and co-founder of SynFutures, agreed. 

“Despite a strong start, the market has re-priced the stock around profitability and cost structure, not growth alone,” Lin told Decrypt.

Looking ahead to 2026, analysts predict a continued focus on execution over exposure.

“Crypto stocks in 2026 will remain highly sensitive to the direction and volatility of Bitcoin and Ethereum,” Lee said, noting that capital discipline and regulatory clarity will be key.

“Execution will matter more than exposure,” Wenny Cai, COO of SynFutures, told Decrypt. “Companies that can translate crypto adoption into predictable revenue and operate within clearer frameworks will be better positioned.”

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