1143 ET - The narrative around bitcoin has been increasingly that the cryptocurrency is trading more in line with what equity markets do, thanks to increased institutional investment. But that correlation has weakened in recent weeks, says Coinbase Institutional in a note. Data published by Coinbase shows that bitcoin topped off with a "correlation coefficient" of 65% in early February, its highest year-to-date. Since then, that's fallen to 51%. In its note, Coinbase analysts say that the factors driving equities versus bitcoin are starting to diverge, explaining the dropped correlation between the two. "The recent equity move has become more earnings- and AI-leadership-driven, while BTC seems to be trading on a narrative more tightly linked to its ETF flows, liquidity metrics, and crypto-specific positioning," says Coinbase. Bitcoin rises 2.3% to $78,229. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2026 11:43 ET (15:43 GMT)

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