Bitcoin tumbles near $62K as AI trade unwinds; HYPE drops 14%
Bitcoin slid to about $62,715 in Asian trading, down 1.9% on the day and 14.5% on the week, as the 2026 AI-driven risk trade lost momentum. Ether fell 4.8% to $1,696, while Solana dropped 5.4% to $66.51.
The move was led by broader markets rather than crypto-specific news. Broadcom’s disappointing AI chip outlook pulled the Nasdaq for a third straight session. Asian equities also weakened: South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 4.7% (with SK Hynix down 8%) and MSCI Asia-Pacific slipped 1.4%. FX pressure followed—Korean won hit a 2009 low and the Indonesian rupiah neared its record low—signaling a coordinated risk-off shift.
Within crypto, Hyperliquid’s HYPE plunged 14.8% to $62.14, wiping out nearly all recent outperformance. Zcash was also pressured, giving back its weekly gains. The structural bid in Bitcoin weakened: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded 13 straight sessions of net outflows totaling roughly $4.4B since mid-May, and Strategy sold 32 BTC (first disclosed since 2022) to cover preferred stock dividend obligations.
Traders now focus on Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls. A soft jobs print could revive expectations for Federal Reserve cuts (supporting real yields lower) and lift the AI trade—likely benefiting Bitcoin. A hot print may reinforce tightening fears and keep both equities and crypto under pressure.
Bearish
This is a bearish setup for crypto because Bitcoin’s drop is being driven by a broader, cross-asset risk-off unwind rather than idiosyncratic crypto factors. The article links the sell-off to (1) a pause in the AI-tech rally after Broadcom’s AI chip outlook missed expectations, and (2) clear macro stress signals in equities and FX. When tech sector momentum breaks, historically it tends to pressure high-beta assets—including major cryptocurrencies—until the macro impulse is reversed.
For Bitcoin specifically, the bearish impulse is amplified by structural demand weakness: 13 straight sessions of net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs (about $4.4B since mid-May) plus Strategy’s first disclosed BTC sale since 2022 (32 BTC). That combination removes a key source of “bid” and can make rebounds harder.
In the short term, Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls is likely to dominate. A hot print typically pushes real yields higher and sustains the risk-off narrative, which would likely keep Bitcoin under pressure. A soft print could partially reverse the AI unwinding and ease real-yield pressure, but given the ETF outflow trend, traders may still sell rallies.
Longer term, if the AI trade is genuinely rotating from “growth-tech momentum” to “caution,” crypto may remain range-bound or choppy until ETF flows stabilize and macro volatility declines—similar to prior cycles where tightening expectations and ETF outflows coincided with weaker crypto breadth.