By Elsa Ohlen

Crypto-related stocks fell to start the week as the industry is closely watching a key piece of legislation as it moves through Congress.

Cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase Global and Robinhood fell 2.4% and 4.6%, respectively, in premarket trading Monday. Shares of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, were down 1.3% while Block, a fintech which also holds Bitcoin for investment purposes, fell 2.5%.

The dip in crypto stocks comes as the Senate is expected to pass a stablecoin bill -- the GENIUS Act -- as soon as Monday. The bill would regulate digital coins pegged to a fiat currency such as Tether and USD Coin, and require issuers to hold a certain amount of liquid and safe assets, among other provisions.

It would mark the first big legislative win for the crypto sector, and stocks tied to the "digital gold" may get a boost -- even as the next steps in governing the sector, including regulating exchanges and token issuers, could prove more difficult.

Bitcoin was in the red early Monday, hovering around $103,000, but even so, the price of the world's largest cryptocurrency isn't too far off its record high of about $109,000 reached in December last year.

If the stablecoin bill passes, it wouldn't be the only milestone for the crypto industry this week. Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, is joining the S&P 500, marking the first time a crypto company has been included in the benchmark index.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com

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May 19, 2025 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)

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