Key Takeaways:
Crypto markets slid across the board Friday as a 5% plunge in Japan's Nikkei 225 triggered a broad unwind of AI and semiconductor-related trades.
Ether fell 4% to $1,850, underperforming bitcoin by a factor of two, as a selloff in Asian semiconductor stocks dragged every major token lower.
"The week has been consolidation under resistance rather than continuation," Wintermute's OTC desk said in an email, noting that spot volumes fell rather than rose into the highs.
Bitcoin held up best of the group, down 2% to about $63,400 and 1% on the week after failing twice at $65,000. Hyperliquid's HYPE was the worst performer, dropping 10% to $60 — its steepest stretch since June. Solana slid 2% to $75, XRP eased 2% to $1.09, BNB fell 2% to $571, and dogecoin lost 2%. The selling originated in semiconductors: Japan's Nikkei 225 slumped 5% in its worst session since March, Taiwan Semiconductor headed for its biggest one-day decline since April 2025, and Kioxia sank as much as 16%.
The divergence between ETF flows and price action is the signal to watch. U.S. spot ether ETFs took in nearly $97 million over the first three days of this week — more than all of last week — with BlackRock's funds accounting for almost all of it. That bid did not prevent ether from falling harder than bitcoin when the chip tape turned, suggesting institutional buying is being overwhelmed by macro risk-off flows.
The MSCI Asia Pacific equities gauge dropped 3%, heading for its lowest close in two months. Last Friday, bitcoin rose 4% on the day South Korea's Kospi jumped 8% and SK Hynix priced $26.5 billion of American depositary shares. The reversal this week reflects a growing concern that the AI rally moved too far too fast — a question being answered in the chip tape rather than in anything onchain.
Glassnode's onchain metrics have yet to confirm a reversal, and the Fear and Greed Index at 25 remains in extreme fear territory.
Meanwhile, oil is moving in the opposite direction. Brent crude rebounded to about $85 a barrel, up 12% on the week — its biggest weekly gain since April — as U.S. strikes on Iran entered a fifth day and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz thinned. The oil surge is rekindling inflation worries that Tuesday's data had just calmed, adding another headwind for risk assets.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
