SKN | Bitcoin Slips Below $71,000 as AI-Driven Tech Rout Deepens

Crypto Falls Back Into Risk-Off Trade

Bitcoin slid below the $71,000 level during Asian trading on Thursday as a renewed selloff in global technology stocks spilled into digital asset markets, erasing hopes that last week’s rebound would develop into something more durable.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 7.5% over the past 24 hours, briefly touching lows near $70,700 before recovering modestly, according to CoinDesk market data. The move extended a period of sharp, two-way volatility that has characterized crypto trading since the start of the month.

AI Weakness Weighs on Global Markets

The latest decline followed heavy losses across Asian equity markets, where concerns over artificial intelligence spending, stretched valuations and slowing earnings momentum continued to pressure technology shares. MSCI’s Asia tech index fell for a fifth time in six sessions, with South Korea’s Kospi sliding roughly 4% as major AI-linked stocks sold off aggressively.

The weakness echoed overnight moves in U.S. markets, where the Nasdaq slipped after disappointing earnings and cautious outlooks from companies including Alphabet, Qualcomm and Arm. Investors have increasingly questioned whether the pace of AI investment can be sustained at levels implied by current valuations.

Bitcoin Trades Like a High-Beta Asset

Bitcoin’s reaction underscored its growing tendency to trade as a high-beta risk asset during equity-led drawdowns, particularly when liquidity is thin and macro uncertainty rises. Rather than acting as a defensive hedge, the cryptocurrency has tracked broader risk sentiment closely in recent weeks.

The latest slide comes after bitcoin briefly whipsawed earlier in the week, dropping toward $73,000 before rebounding above $76,000. That sharp reversal now looks less like the start of a trend change and more like a positioning-driven bounce in a fragile market.

Metals Rout Adds to Volatility

Pressure on crypto was compounded by violent moves in commodities. Silver plunged as much as 17% and gold fell more than 3%, extending a brutal unwind that has already triggered heavy liquidations across futures and tokenized metals products on crypto trading platforms.

The synchronized selloff across equities, commodities and crypto highlights a broader de-risking move as investors pull back from crowded trades amid rising macro uncertainty.

Fragile Conviction, Unclear Direction

With technology stocks under pressure, commodities unwinding and crypto liquidity remaining thin, bitcoin’s slide below $71,000 reinforces the view that conviction remains weak. Price action over recent days suggests markets are still searching for a floor rather than signaling a clear reversal.

For now, bitcoin appears vulnerable to further spillovers from global risk markets, with traders watching whether equity volatility stabilizes or accelerates into another wave of forced selling.