Key Takeaways

Circle, Figure, and Gemini have joined Coinbase on U.S. stock exchanges in 2025.

The spell of IPO optimism was struck down on Friday when Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports.

For listed crypto firms, the broader market downturn was compounded by a partisan clash over DeFi regulation.

It has been a strong year for crypto IPOs. Circle, Figure, and Gemini are the three largest digital asset companies to go public since Coinbase in 2021. But the political and economic tailwinds that propelled listed crypto firms to new heights in 2025 may have finally run their course.

Crypto stocks plummeted across the board on Friday, when Coinbase (COIN), Circle (CRCL), Figure (FIGR), and Gemini (GEMI) fell between five and 12 percent.

A broad market selloff was fuelled by heightened trade tensions between the U.S. and China, with President Trump threatening to unleash yet more tariffs on Chinese imports. For digital asset companies, the downturn was further compounded by plummeting crypto prices and a standoff in the Senate over DeFi regulation.

After Beijing introduced fresh restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, Trump responded by threatening to impose a 100% tariff on all products from China.

The move represents the latest escalation in a trade war that has rocked global markets throughout 2025.

Each time the President threatens new tariffs, stock indices decline. For example, by the time markets closed on Friday, the S&P 500 was down 2.96% from its morning high.

Friday’s selloff had a pronounced effect on American crypto companies.

Coinbase stock started the day strong, with the news that it is in talks to acquire stablecoin startup BVNK propelling COIN above $400. However, the company wasn’t immune to broader market sentiment, plummeting more than 16% on Trump’s tariff threat before bouncing back to close at $357.

Among the IPO class of 2025, Circle, Figure, and Gemini followed a similar pattern, declining sharply throughout as Wall Street anticipated a fresh round of tariffs before making a modest rebound late in the day.

At the closing bell, CRCL was down 11.66%, FGR 12.20%, and GEMI 8.30%.

Beyond escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, the crypto industry was further rocked by a leaked proposal from Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee.

The proposal, which would severely restrict DeFi  in the U.S., sparked an immediate backlash from the crypto sector and exposed a bipartisan rift threatening to derail eagerly anticipated crypto regulation.

Following the successful passage of the GENIUS Act in July, there was optimism that the committee could markup a crypto market structure bill before the end of the year. But with Senators now locked in a standoff over DeFi, the legislation’s path forward blocked is blocked for now.

Delayed regulation alone isn’t a death knell for crypto companies that have made it this far without any.

That said, Senate Democrats’ DeFi proposal highlights the threat to many crypto companies as long as key regulatory questions remain unanswered.

While they are unlikely to be adopted given staunch Republican opposition, the proposed restrictions would create difficulty for companies that build, operate, or profit from decentralized protocols.

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