Global Markets Bleed as AI Cool-Off Triggers Broad Crypto and Asian Tech Selloff

Cryptocurrencies and Asian equities tumbled on Friday as a cooling artificial intelligence trade triggered a broad, coordinated shift away from risk assets globally. Bitcoin slid 1.9% in Asian trading hours to $62,715, bringing its weekly losses to 14.5%. The downturn hit the broader crypto market even harder, with Ether dropping 4.8% to $1,696 and Solana falling 5.4% to $66.51, extending its seven-day decline to 18.5%.

The selloff was primarily driven by outside macroeconomic pressures rather than crypto-specific events. A weaker-than-expected AI-chip outlook from Broadcom earlier in the week stalled a months-long rally in semiconductor stocks, sending shockwaves through global markets. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.9%, marking a third consecutive day of declines for the index, while South Korea’s tech-heavy KOSPI index plunged 4.7%, led by an 8% drop in chipmaker SK Hynix.

Fears of a wider economic slowdown also reverberated across currency markets, where the Korean won sank to its lowest level since 2009 and the Indonesian rupiah traded near historic lows against the dollar amid massive foreign capital flight. Bucking the regional trend, the Indian rupee held steady following defensive capital-inflow measures introduced by the Reserve Bank of India. The overarching sentiment across the Asia-Pacific region, however, remained a heavily defensive risk-off stance.

Within the crypto sector, previous market holdouts quickly capitulated to the downward pressure. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token, which had initially resisted the weekly market bleed, plunged 14.8% to $62.14, while Zcash similarly erased all of its recent gains. This rapid reversal shattered a brief market narrative that high-cash-flow tokens could decouple from the broader crypto decline, proving that institutional and retail money is pulling back indiscriminately.

Adding to the pressure, structural market support for digital assets has noticeably weakened. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have recorded 13 consecutive sessions of net outflows, bleeding roughly $4.4 billion since mid-May. Furthermore, MicroStrategy disclosed its first bitcoin sale since 2022, liquidating 32 BTC to fund dividend obligations. Analysts note that the combination of these persistent institutional outflows has effectively stripped away the steady buying pressure that had anchored bitcoin prices over the last year and a half.

Market participants are now cleanly focused on the upcoming U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for direction. A cooler jobs report could revive hopes for interest rate cuts under Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, potentially lowering yields and reigniting the AI and crypto trades. Conversely, a hot labor market print is expected to accelerate the current downtrend, leaving both equities and digital assets on a path of least resistance downward until the macroeconomic data is settled.