(Yahoo! Finance) - Crypto stocks may be nearing a bottom, according to Bernstein analysts.
"The combination of geopolitics and temporary crypto weak sentiment is offering big discounts" on crypto stocks, wrote Bernstein's Gautam Chhugani and his team.
Shares of trading platforms Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), as well as fintech Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR), have fallen roughly 60% from their all-time highs. Bitcoin is trading below $68,000 after surging past $120,000 last summer and fall.
Bernstein maintained an Outperform rating on the three crypto stocks. But it lowered its price targets due to expectations of weak first quarter results later this spring.
"We believe, we will see a bottom in crypto stocks into weak Q1 earnings," wrote Chhugani.
However, the analysts expect Coinbase's earnings per share to grow by 23% in 2026. They also see "stronger resilience," particularly in Robinhood and Figure, given that their revenues are largely unlinked to crypto. Figure is a pure blockchain tokenization business, while crypto-linked revenue makes up only about 20% of Robinhood’s overall sales.
"In our view, these businesses offer exposure to trillion dollar markets with years of growth ahead — prediction markets, stablecoins, tokenized real world assets, crypto derivatives and further beta on crypto recovery from the bottom,” said Chhugani.
Bernstein recently forecast a recovery in crypto markets through 2026, calling for the token to reach $150,000 by the end of the year.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds' outflows seen at the start of the year have reversed recently; ETFs currently hold roughly 6.1% of the total supply.
Additionally, digital asset Treasury giant Strategy (MSTR) has acted as a strong buyer. Strategy currently holds roughly 3.6% of all supply, Chhugani said.
Despite bitcoin's relative outperformance during the Iran war compared to other assets, some strategists aren't convinced.
"This is just a risk asset like everything else," Lee Munson, chief investment officer of Portfolio Wealth Advisors, said of crypto.
In the event of a broader market downturn driven by surging oil prices, "This idea that there is a part of the market that is going to be insulated from anything is laughable," he added.
By Ines Ferré - Senior Business Reporter
