Crypto-linked equities traded lower in after-hours trading as investors reduced risk ahead of Thursday’s U.S. CPI release.

  • Broader U.S. markets weakened after the close, with QQQ leading declines and retail sentiment on Stocktwits flipped to ‘bearish.’
  • Bitcoin slid to around $86,400, dragging sentiment across crypto proxies and contributing to nearly $540 million in liquidations over 24 hours.
  • Hut 8 outperformed the sector after announcing a Google-backed AI data center agreement.

Crypto-linked equities traded lower in after-hours trading on Wednesday as investors pared exposure ahead of the release of November’s U.S. consumer price index, due Thursday morning. 

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U.S. equities overall were lower after the close. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) slipped 0.9%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) dropped 1.5%. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around QQQ turned ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral,’ with chatter rising to ‘high’ levels.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market declined 1.6% over the past 24 hours, with major tokens largely rangebound into Wednesday night. CoinGlass data showed nearly $540 million in liquidations over the past day. Bitcoin (BTC) fell 1.1% to around $86,400, remaining the key driver of sentiment across crypto-linked equities. Retail sentiment around the asset trended in ‘extremely bearish’ territory on Stocktwits, with ‘low’ chatter. 

HUT’s Stock Outperforms

Hut 8 (HUT) announced on Wednesday a 15-year, $7 billion agreement to provide AI data center capacity through infrastructure provider Fluidstack, with financial backing from Google (GOOGL). HUT’s stock gained nearly 9% on the day, and was around 1% higher in after-hours trade. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock rose to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘neutral’ territory as message volumes jumped to ‘extremely high’ from ‘normal’ levels. 

The Louisiana-based project is expected to secure financing led by JPMorgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS). Clear Street analyst Brian Dobson raised his price target on Hut 8 to $60 from $27, citing the scale and duration of the deal, as per TheFly.

Miners Face Diverging Fortunes

Other crypto mining stocks showed mixed performance amid broader tech weakness. A Wall Street Journal report highlighted growing concerns over the fragility of the AI infrastructure boom, citing operational delays and tighter credit conditions affecting firms such as CoreWeave (CRWV). 

CRWV’s stock fell more than 7% on the day, moving 0.5% higher in after-hours. Retail sentiment around the company on Stocktwits remained in ‘bullish’ territory, accompanied by ‘high’ levels of chatter. The company relies heavily on Nvidia (NVDA) chips and revenue from large clients, including Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META). 

DATs Take A Hit As Crypto Falls

Strategy (MSTR) shares dropped more than 4.2% during regular trading before edging 0.1% higher after hours. The firm recently disclosed the purchase of another 10,645 Bitcoin, lifting its total holdings above 671,000 coins. Retail sentiment around the Bitcoin proxy dropped to ‘extremely bearish’ from ‘bearish’ over the past day, amid ‘low’ levels of chatter.

Ethereum (ETH) treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) also disclosed fresh accumulation this week, adding 102,259 ETH worth roughly $320 million over the past week. BMNR’s stock dropped more than 6.5% on Wednesday, but edged 0.6% higher in after-hours trade. Retail sentiment around the company on Stocktwits remained in ‘bearish’ territory amid ‘low’ levels of chatter.

This came as Ethereum’s price saw a 4% drop in the last 24 hours. Retail sentiment around the leading altcoin trended in ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past day, amid ‘low’ levels of chatter.

Read also: Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs See Over $500M Outflows While XRP And Solana Funds Buck The Sell-Off

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