Key Highlights

● SharpLink slid in premarket trading on October 22 as crypto prices pulled back.

● Ether traded at about $2,381.

● Bitcoin slipped to roughly $81,264 and briefly dipped below $81,000.

● No regular-session closing figure for SharpLink was available.

SharpLink (NASDAQ:SBET), one of the companies that holds ether as a core treasury asset, slid before the opening bell on Thursday, October 22, 2026, as crypto prices pulled back. The stock was among a group of crypto-linked names trading lower at about 8:45am ET.

The premarket decline set the tone for a rough day on the Nasdaq Composite, which went on to post its steepest one-day drop since June 5.

Following the coins

For a company like SharpLink, the share price tends to move closely with the token it holds. When ether falls, the value of the treasury on the balance sheet falls with it, and the stock usually follows.

That is what happened on Thursday. Ether traded at about $2,381, down from Wednesday, while bitcoin slipped to roughly $81,264 and briefly dipped below $81,000. Market commentary attributed the crypto drop to oil prices climbing above $111 a barrel and fading appetite for risk. Bitcoin suffered its biggest decline since June, and market data showed about $400 million in liquidations of leveraged positions.

Exchange-traded funds tracking the two largest tokens also fell, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and its iShares Ethereum Trust both lower on the day.

A sector-wide retreat

SharpLink was far from alone. Fellow ether-treasury company BitMine (NYSE American:BMNR), bitcoin holder Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), stablecoin issuer Circle (NYSE:CRCL) and exchange operator Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) were also lower before the open, along with a Hyperliquid-linked name. Several of those stocks had gained on Wednesday, so part of the move looked like a reversal of the previous day's bounce.

One exception was TRON Inc. (NASDAQ:TRON), a company that holds the TRX token, which rose against the weak crypto tape during the session.

It is important to note the timing. The figures for SharpLink came from premarket trading, a thin market where quotes can move quickly. No regular-session closing figure for the stock was available, so its final move for the day could differ from the early snapshot. SharpLink had no company-specific announcement on Thursday.

The bigger picture

The crypto slide fit neatly into a broader risk-off mood. Artificial-intelligence and chip stocks sold off hard after the report from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) showed heavier AI spending and negative free cash flow, and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX)'s guidance flagged supply constraints.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 694.00 points to 26,008.86, and the index lost about $1 trillion in market value. The S&P 500 dropped 93.74 points to 7,663.43, its worst day since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended essentially flat, up 11.89 points.

Gold and silver also fell, with gold hitting its lowest level in more than two months, while oil marched higher. Brent crude settled at $113.17, its highest since May 4, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and a media report that the US and Israel have plans to renew strikes on Iran after the November 3 midterm elections.

Treasuries, by contrast, rallied hard, with the 10-year yield closing back below a closely watched threshold for the first time since September 22.

SharpLink Tracks the Price of Ether

For SharpLink, the key driver remains the price of ether. A rebound in the token would likely ease pressure on the stock, while further weakness would keep it under strain.

Crypto traders will also watch the Federal Reserve, which meets on October 27–28 and announces its decision on Wednesday, October 28. Before that, Friday brings S&P Global's purchasing managers' surveys and the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading, either of which could shift the mood around risk assets.