Image credit: Shutterstock
Bitcoin recovered toward $64,000 on Wednesday, holding up better than South Korean chip stocks after a two-day selloff led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
The split follows several weeks in which traders often treated crypto and AI-linked technology stocks as connected risk assets. Bitcoin’s ability to regain ground during the latest semiconductor rout puts that relationship under fresh scrutiny ahead of the Federal Reserve’s July 29 rate decision.
Bitcoin Gains 1% as KOSPI Closes Down 5.98%
Bitcoin rose about 1% to roughly $63,800 during Asian trading after briefly falling below $63,000 earlier in the week.
South Korea moved in the opposite direction. The KOSPI fell as much as nearly 12% intraday on Wednesday before closing 5.98% lower at 5,663.24. Trading was halted for 20 minutes after the decline triggered a marketwide circuit breaker.
Samsung and SK Hynix Extend Two-Day Selloff
Wednesday’s drop followed Tuesday’s 10.84% slide, when Samsung lost 13.4% and SK Hynix fell 14.7%.
The two chipmakers make up a large share of the benchmark, increasing the impact of the semiconductor selloff.
Samsung lost another 5.23% on Wednesday ahead of its results due Thursday. SK Hynix closed 9.61% lower after falling as much as about 17% earlier in the session.
SK Hynix Profit Jumps 557% But Misses Forecasts
SK Hynix reported second-quarter operating profit of 60.5 trillion won, up 557% from a year earlier and its highest quarterly figure. Revenue reached 79.3 trillion won. Those results still missed market expectations.
Investors also focused on slower-than-expected HBM4 shipments, China’s expanding memory-chip capacity and whether heavy spending on AI infrastructure can keep supporting current valuations.
Bitcoin Resilience Does Not Confirm a Break From Tech Stocks
Bitcoin’s performance marks another session in which crypto resisted a sharp decline in AI-linked equities. It also stayed relatively steady during last week’s U.S. technology selloff.
That does not confirm a lasting break between the markets. Bitcoin briefly fell below $63,000 earlier this week after the Senate delayed work on the CLARITY Act, showing that crypto-specific policy developments can still move prices quickly.
Fed’s July 29 Rate Decision Becomes Bitcoin’s Next Test
Attention now turns to the Federal Reserve’s July 29 rate decision. U.S. inflation data, second-quarter GDP figures and another round of technology earnings will follow.
Those releases will give traders the next test of whether Bitcoin can continue holding near $64,000 while equity volatility remains elevated.
