The token dipped to around $59,000 before buyers stepped in to stabilize prices, though losses across the week remain significant. Despite a strong forecast from Micron boosting equities and oil continuing to decline, cryptocurrencies failed to mirror the rebound.
Digital assets came under heavy selling pressure this week, with bitcoin slipping below the $60,000 mark even as the tech stocks that previously weighed on it staged a sharp recovery.
Bitcoin dropped to roughly $59,200 late Wednesday before rebounding to about $60,700 on Thursday. It is down 2.9% over the past 24 hours and 5.4% for the week, according to CoinDesk data.
Losses were even more pronounced among major altcoins. Ether declined 2.8% to $1,616, marking a 7.9% weekly drop. XRP fell to $1.07, bringing its weekly losses to 9.2%, while Solana slid to $68. Dogecoin and Hyperliquid’s HYPE recorded the steepest declines over the past seven days, falling 11.9% and 11.7%, respectively. Tron stood out as the only major token posting gains, rising 1.9% on the week.
Meanwhile, the AI-driven trade that had previously dragged crypto lower rebounded overnight.
Micron, the largest U.S. memory chip manufacturer, surged about 15% after issuing a sales forecast that exceeded Wall Street expectations, reigniting optimism around AI-related spending. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.8%, South Korea’s Kospi jumped as much as 6%, and Brent crude dropped below $73 per barrel as oil flows resumed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pressure on crypto markets appears increasingly self-driven. The drop below $60,000 reflects ongoing outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, a more hawkish stance from the Federal Reserve, and a U.S. dollar that has climbed to a seven-month high, according to Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro.
A stronger dollar raises the cost of dollar-denominated assets like bitcoin for international investors and typically draws capital away from riskier trades.
FxPro also highlighted a longer-term risk. Bitcoin is currently trading near its 200-week moving average—a key long-term indicator representing roughly four years of price action.
Historically, when bitcoin has fallen to this level, downturns have been extended rather than short-lived, lasting about nine months in 2015, six months in 2018, and roughly six quarters following the 2022 crash. This pattern suggests the possibility of a prolonged “crypto winter” rather than a swift recovery.
In the near term, Kuptsikevich identifies the $61,800 to $62,000 range as the next critical zone. This area contains a concentration of orders that could either push prices higher through short-covering or act as resistance limiting further gains.
If support levels fail, $55,000 could emerge as a potential cycle bottom. He advised traders to prioritize risk management over directional bets.
Attention now turns to upcoming U.S. inflation data, particularly the Federal Reserve’s preferred price index.
A higher-than-expected reading would reinforce the Fed’s hawkish stance and support the strong dollar, both of which weigh on crypto markets. Conversely, softer data could provide some relief. Regardless, crypto is no longer reacting to geopolitical or oil-driven narratives that dominated earlier in June, instead facing pressure from ETF outflows and weak demand that equity market strength has yet to offset.
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