South Korea’s Kospi tumbled as much as 9%, triggering its second trading halt of the week, as chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung both fell more than 8%. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.5%. Brent crude slipped below $74 a barrel, easing little of the pressure, after a projectile strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz briefly revived supply concerns.
The crypto-specific selling added to it. Part of bitcoin’s pullback came from large holders selling sizable amounts into a market that has been slow to absorb the extra supply, said Gabe Selby, head of research at CF Benchmarks, in an email to CoinDesk.
He said much of the new money and investor attention has flowed into AI plays lately, leaving crypto fighting for a smaller share of overall risk appetite, and described the move as a broad market cooldown rather than anything broken in crypto itself.
Selby sees the current zone as the one that has historically halted bitcoin’s declines. “Bitcoin has pulled back into the $50,000 to $60,000 zone today, and if history is any guide, this is where buyers step in,” he said.
That leaves the market where it has traded all week, with bitcoin leaning on a level it has not lost in nearly two years while the altcoins around it weaken faster. Selby further pointed to $55,000 as the support to watch below and $61,000 to $62,000 as the level bulls need to reclaim, and advised keeping position sizes sensible.
