Bitcoin plunges to near $62,000 as the AI trade unwinds, HYPE falls 14%
Broadcom’s disappointing AI chip outlook pulled the Nasdaq lower for a third session, dragged Asian equities down with it, and took crypto along for the ride.
What to know:
- Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies extended steep weekly losses as the broader artificial-intelligence trade that has driven global risk assets since 2026 faltered.
- The sell-off was led by equity and currency markets, with semiconductor stocks, Asian indexes and several regional currencies sliding in a broad risk-off shift.
- Persistent outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs and a rare bitcoin sale by Strategy have removed a key source of support, leaving markets focused on Friday’s U.S. jobs report for clues on Federal Reserve policy and the fate of the AI trade.
The selloff was led from outside crypto. Broadcom’s quarterly AI-chip outlook missed elevated expectations on Wednesday, pausing a months-long advance in semiconductor stocks from their war-driven lows.
Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.9% on Friday, extending the index to a third straight day of declines. South Korea’s KOSPI, the best-performing major equity index this year and the cleanest tape on the AI buildout, tumbled 4.7%, with chipmaker SK Hynix off 8%. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific equities gauge fell 1.4%.
Currency markets carried their own stress signal. The Korean won extended a slide to a 2009 low. The Indonesian rupiah traded near its record low against the dollar as foreign investors yanked billions from local bond markets.
The Indian rupee bucked the trend after the Reserve Bank of India announced fresh measures to attract capital inflows. The picture across Asia is a coordinated risk-off shift that’s been quietly building all week.
