2025 is drawing to a close, and for most investments, it has been a stellar year. The S&P 500 is poised for its third consecutive year of 20% gains, and commodity prices such as gold and silver have soared to record highs, with the market seemingly poised for even greater gains in 2026. However, despite strong investor risk appetite and supportive government policies, crypto assets experienced a sudden plunge in October. After hitting an all-time high of $125,000, Bitcoin (BTC) suddenly plummeted by approximately 20% in October, putting greater pressure on many publicly traded companies employing cryptocurrency strategies, with their share prices falling in tandem. Analysts believe the following five stocks are best avoided or sold. This article is excerpted from Benzinga Research, purely for market observation and not investment advice. DYOR.
Strategy Inc. NASDAQ: (MSTR)
Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR), a leading company that pioneered Bitcoin reserves, experienced a turbulent 2025 amid a weaker-than-expected performance in the cryptocurrency market. Five years ago, CEO Michael Saylor shifted the company's (then known as MicroStrategy) business from software to Bitcoin, with initial results remarkable, its stock price rising far beyond the value of its Bitcoin holdings. In fact, investors had to pay $2 to $3 to buy $1 worth of Bitcoin that Strategy sold, largely because institutional investors had virtually no other way to acquire cryptocurrency at the time. MSTR's stock price soared, surpassing its all-time high during the dot-com bubble, jumping from $40 to $475 in less than a year. But today, with the proliferation of Bitcoin ETFs, MSTR's premium is declining, and its stock has transformed from a unique Bitcoin investment into a value trap.
Over the past 12 months, MSTR's stock price has nearly halved, falling 20% in the last month alone. The charts show several bearish technical trends, such as the price breaking below the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicating that bearish momentum has taken hold. If Bitcoin's price continues to fall, Strategy may be forced to sell shares at a low price to pay debt or issue new shares, diluting the equity of existing shareholders.
Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF)
Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ: BITF) is a global Bitcoin mining operator founded in 2017, currently valued at $1.8 billion and generating annual revenue of $193 million. Unlike many of its peers, Bitfarms has not rushed to transform its vast data center network into artificial intelligence or high-performance computing services; instead, it focuses on pure Bitcoin mining as its core business. Although the company recently announced plans to convert one mining center into an AI GPU mining center, that center will not be operational until the end of 2026, meaning the company will need to rely on Bitcoin mining to sustain operations for another year.
With the economics of Bitcoin mining becoming increasingly dire, BITF's stock price has begun to decline after a parabolic surge that ended in October. The stock has shown all the signs of a failed rally, including a sudden loss of momentum and a rapid drop below previous support levels. Momentum is currently trending downwards, and the 50-day moving average may act as resistance, especially given the continued volatility in Bitcoin prices and the stabilization of the company's main revenue stream.
Hut 8 Corporation (NASDAQ: HUT)
Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT), which spun off most of its Bitcoin mining operations to Trump-owned American Bitcoin (NASDAQ: ABTC) earlier this year, is facing pressure on both companies' stock prices as the lock-up period for ABTC shares expires. Despite Hut's significantly better-than-expected Q3 2025 earnings report released on November 3, its stock price appears to have peaked, with the continued decline in Bitcoin prices putting considerable pressure on the company.
The Double Top pattern appeared in October, earlier than the earnings report that exceeded expectations, suggesting the market may have already priced in the news, while Bitcoin spot prices dominated HUT's stock price movement. The 50-day moving average, previously a reliable support level, has now been broken and is acting as resistance to any upward momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) also confirms a weakening uptrend, which may limit further gains in the stock price until Bitcoin prices rebound.
Bakkt Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKKT)
Bakkt Holdings (NASDAQ: BKKT) is not a Bitcoin miner or money management company, but a digital asset platform that provides custody and trading services to institutional clients. Custody services are the company's primary source of business, but trading volumes have begun to slow, and the industry is no longer booming. The company's revenue has declined for four consecutive quarters, and further declines in trading volume, coupled with the slowdown in Bitcoin trading, could impact the company's profitability in 2026. BKKT's stock price surged during a brief cryptocurrency rally in late September, but the upward momentum has since weakened sharply. In early October, the stock price fell in 11 out of 12 trading days, breaking below the 50-day moving average and causing a sharp drop in the MACD. Recently, the downward momentum in the stock price has intensified.
With the 200-day moving average failing to stop the stock price decline and instead becoming a resistance level, the company faces numerous fundamental and technical headwinds and may need a significant rebound in cryptocurrency prices to restore its revenue streams.
Core Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ: CORZ)
Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ), which operates data centers designed for Bitcoin mining, has diversified its business into GPU hosting, leveraging its high-performance computing services. Since its IPO in January 2024, the stock has performed strongly, surging from under $3 to $18 in less than a year. However, despite the positive impact of the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency markets, Core Scientific's revenue has been declining since the beginning of 2024. Losses are also narrowing, but the decline in digital asset revenue has put pressure on the stock price, which has fallen 13% in the past month.
For small- and mid-cap tech stocks, price declines are not uncommon, but CORZ's stock price is approaching a key level, which should indicate the strength of the downtrend. The price is again fluctuating around the 50-day moving average. Previously, the price had fallen sharply below this level, but subsequent buying pushed it back up to near the 50-day moving average. The next few trading days will help determine the next direction of this trend; if the price encounters resistance and falls back, it suggests potential for further declines.
This article, "Benzinga Analysis: These Five Stocks Are Best to Sell During a Bitcoin Crash," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
