Crypto Firms Kraken, Riot and Strategy Show No Immunity in Brutal Q1

Key Takeaways

• Major crypto firms, including Strategy, Riot and Kraken, posted steep Q1 losses
• Revenue dropped across the board.
• Despite losses, April saw a sharp rebound, and Bitcoin jumped 15%.

Several major crypto firms reported sharp losses in the first quarter of 2025, as a turbulent start to the year dragged down earnings across the sector.

Declining Bitcoin (BTC) prices and broader market volatility hit both publicly traded companies and private firms alike.

Strategy Reports $4.2 Billion Loss

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, recorded a $4.2 billion net loss for the quarter, its fifth in a row.

The bulk of that came from a $5.9 billion impairment on its Bitcoin holdings, following a 25% drop in BTC prices during Q1.

The company is one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, and its financials remain closely tied to the asset’s price movements.

Riot Suffers Despite Higher Revenue

Riot Platforms, a major U.S.-based Bitcoin miner, also felt the sting. The firm posted a net loss of $296.4 million in Q1, driven by falling Bitcoin prices and a drop in the value of its marketable securities.

Still, Riot saw modest gains on the operational front. Quarterly revenue climbed 13% to $161.4 million, up from $142.6 million in Q4 2024.

Gross profit also rose to $73.6 million. The company’s Bitcoin holdings increased to 19,223 BTC—an 8% gain over the previous quarter.

Kraken Sees $30 Million Revenue Dip

Crypto exchange Kraken reported stronger performance year-over-year, with gross revenue up 19% to $472 million.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 17% to $187.4 million. However, compared to Q4 2024, the company saw a $30 million drop in revenue.

Kraken attributed the decline to reduced trading activity amid market uncertainty and declining investor appetite.

April Rebound Offers Hope

Despite the rough start to 2025, Q2 has brought signs of recovery. Crypto markets rebounded sharply in April, led by Bitcoin’s 15% monthly gain.

That rally helped lift the broader sector even as traditional markets stumbled.

Strategy (MSTR) surged 31% in April, outpacing both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Coinbase (COIN) rose 17%, while MARA gained 16%.

Galaxy Digital posted a standout 33% gain following news of its planned Nasdaq listing and partnership with AI cloud provider CoreWeave.

Bitcoin’s April outperformance, beating both gold (up 6.1%) and the Nasdaq (down 0.2%), has sparked renewed investor confidence.