Coinbase plummets 15% as broad sell-off sees billions wiped from cryptocurrency market cap

• Coinbase fell 15% Monday amid a broader crypto selloff.
• Cryptocurrencies lost billions and fell below a $1 trillion market cap.

Coinbase stock fell as much as 15% Monday amid a broader crypto selloff that slashed billions from the total market value.

Shares of the popular cryptocurrency platform were changing hands at $49.73 at presstime. Coinbase stock is down 82% from the start of the year.

The largest crypto exchange in the US is battling a rout throughout the market that has pushed cryptocurrencies below a $1 trillion market cap. The latest cryptocurrency turmoil adds to an already frustrating 2022 for the market, which enjoyed a boom in 2021.

"Whenever Bitcoin has volatile moves this usually means that Coinbase follows in the same direction," said Marcus Sotiriou, market analyst at GlobalBlock.

Sotiriou says exchanges like Coinbase are so intertwined with bitcoin that when the largest cryptocurrency has big price rallies, the entire market gains more confidence which can extend to the company where the coin is traded, but "the same is the case for the opposite direction."

Coinbase made headlines in recent weeks when it rescinded several job offers via email over shifting market conditions, and said it expected a hiring freeze to continue into the "foreseeable future."

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, tumbled as much as 17% Monday while Ethereum slipped 15%. Risk assets are proving less attractive after Friday's Consumer Price Index report showed inflation rising at the quickest pace in 41 years. Bitcoin is often touted as a hedge against inflation akin to liquid assets like gold and silver.