‘Extreme fear’: bitcoin plunge hammers Hong Kong-listed firms tied to digital assets

Bitcoin continues to plunge as a cryptocurrency sell-off deepens, shaving off gains in share prices that some Hong Kong-listed firms made this year after launching digital asset initiatives.

Bitcoin at one point on Tuesday dropped below US$90,000, more than 4 per cent lower than at the start of 2025, after hitting multiple all-time highs this year.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency had “underperformed both gold and the Nasdaq amid risk-off sentiment and tight liquidity, exacerbated by the historical leverage flush in the crypto market since October”, said Steven Nie, associate director at Daiwa Capital Markets.

Nie said the cryptocurrency market was “in extreme fear”.

Several Hong Kong-listed companies have slumped recently after having boosted their shares by announcing various digital asset strategies.