Ether and XRP Hold Steady as Chip Stocks Rally on Samsung’s Massive Profit Jump

Major cryptocurrencies remained largely unchanged on Thursday as the semiconductor-driven market selloff showed early signs of stabilizing. However, most major tokens are still lower for the week, with Hyperliquid’s HYPE among the biggest decliners, down 8%.

Bitcoin traded near $64,100 and ether hovered around $1,905, with both little changed over the past 24 hours. XRP stood at about $1.07, while solana traded near $74, BNB around $572, and TRON at roughly $0.33. Hyperliquid’s HYPE slipped to $54. Trading activity remained relatively subdued, with bitcoin recording around $28 billion in volume and ether about $10 billion.

The easing in chip-related pressure came after Samsung reported that semiconductor profits surged more than 250 times due to strong demand for AI memory products. South Korea’s Kospi experienced a volatile session, jumping as much as 6% before falling 2% and eventually stabilizing after a decline of more than 40% from its June high.

Samsung’s market reaction highlighted how elevated investor expectations have become. Despite a massive profit increase, the company’s stock gained only about 2%. Meanwhile, SK Hynix reported a 557% jump in profits on Wednesday but saw its shares plunge 17%. The issue is not earnings performance, but whether results can exceed already high expectations.

U.S. corporate earnings delivered mixed signals overnight. Microsoft shares climbed nearly 9% in extended trading after reporting their strongest cloud growth in four years, while Meta dropped 8% following a weaker revenue outlook. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1% after the index entered correction territory on Wednesday.

The broader weekly crypto performance paints a weaker picture than Thursday’s stability suggests. HYPE has fallen 8% over the past seven days, making it the worst performer among major tokens. XRP is down 6%, solana has declined 5%, dogecoin has dropped 4% to $0.07, and bitcoin has lost 3%. BNB remains the only major cryptocurrency in positive territory for the week, though only slightly.

One notable trend is that crypto markets have shown limited reaction to recent equity market turbulence. Bitcoin closely followed semiconductor stocks throughout much of July, moving alongside broader AI and chip-related sentiment.

The largest cryptocurrency held firm despite last week’s $797 billion decline in U.S. megacap technology stocks and South Korea’s historic two-day market selloff. The weakness seen across alternative cryptocurrencies appears more connected to reduced liquidity rather than direct fallout from equity market moves.