Coinbase CEO Shares Staking Concerns, Bitcoin NFTs Take Off

Equities are relatively flat following yesterday’s pullback, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Stocks retreated after initially gaining this morning following releases of positive earnings beats and higher weekly jobless claims. Disney posted beats on both earnings and revenue while delivering lower-than-expected subscriber churn, while PepsiCo reported fourth-quarter earnings above expectations. Investors have been scrutinizing Q4 earnings releases for signs of how businesses have been impacted by inflation and the Fed’s rate hikes, which were expected to potentially slow economic activity. Weekly jobless claims jumped by 13,000 to 196,000, above expectations and counter to recent data showing a historically tight labor market. Crypto has been lagging behind equities, with the global market cap falling by 1.5%, BTC down 2.1%, and ETH falling by 2.2%. Reports of an industry crackdown orchestrated by the U.S. banking sector and rumors of potential SEC action against retail staking providers have led to underperformance compared to equities.