Bitcoin falls to $63,000 as global chip rout hits risk assets
Bitcoin dropped to $63,000 as a deepening semiconductor selloff triggered a broad retreat from risk assets ahead of the Federal Reserve's July meeting.
Bitcoin dropped to roughly $63,000 on Friday, registering a 1.7% decline over 24 hours and a 2.2% slip for the week. The movement mirrored a wider unwind of risk assets driven by a sharp selloff in global semiconductor stocks. For market professionals, the price action underscores how tightly correlated digital assets remain to traditional equity sentiment, particularly the technology sector.
The equity pressure was most severe in tech-heavy indices. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.8% and S&P 500 contracts fell 0.9% in premarket trading, while a semiconductor exchange-traded fund slid 3%. Asian markets bore the brunt of the damage, with Taiwanese stocks entering a technical correction and the regional benchmark hitting a two-month low. European equities demonstrated more resilience due to their lower structural exposure to the technology sector.
The source of the equity volatility is a lingering skepticism over the semiconductor sector's massive valuations. Investors are increasingly questioning whether the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent by AI hyperscalers will generate adequate returns. TSMC's latest earnings results this week failed to provide the clarity needed to justify those elevated valuations, leaving the market without a clear floor for chip stocks.
This uncertainty is spilling directly into crypto allocations. Bitcoin had briefly rallied toward $65,000 earlier in the week following a softer-than-expected inflation print. However, that uptick was strictly a macro-driven trade, and the subsequent chip selloff has successfully reversed that momentum. The dynamic suggests that positive inflation data alone is insufficient to sustain crypto bids when risk appetite in core tech sectors deteriorates.
The broader crypto complex showed divergent performance under this pressure. Ether held relatively steady at $1,836, maintaining a 2.4% gain over the past seven days. Conversely, Hyperliquid emerged as the session's weakest major token, plummeting 8% on the day and 12% across the week. Investors are now positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting on July 28 and 29.
