Bitcoin Breaks Away From Tech Turmoil as Korea’s Chip Crisis Deepens

SK Hynix shares plunged 17% even after the chipmaker reported a 557% jump in quarterly profit, as investors viewed the results as falling short of extremely high expectations. At the same time, Bitcoin gained 1% ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.

Bitcoin rose about 1% to nearly $63,800 on Wednesday, holding steady as Asian stock markets experienced one of their steepest declines of the year. The move marked the second time within a week that crypto markets have remained resilient despite a major selloff in artificial intelligence-related technology stocks.

Most major cryptocurrencies followed Bitcoin higher. Ether increased 1% to around $1,899, XRP climbed 2% to $1.07, BNB moved up to approximately $567, Solana remained near $73, and Dogecoin posted a modest gain. Hyperliquid’s HYPE was the only major token to decline, falling 3% to $54.

The pressure across equities was heavily focused on semiconductor companies. South Korea’s benchmark index dropped another 11% on Wednesday after a similar decline the previous day, putting it on track for its largest two-day fall in history.

SK Hynix shares fell sharply despite reporting quarterly profit growth of more than six times, while Samsung declined 12% ahead of its earnings announcement. The MSCI Asia Pacific index slipped 2% to its lowest level since mid-April, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1%, extending the technology index’s losing streak to five sessions.

SK Hynix’s results showed the challenge facing AI-related companies: strong earnings growth is no longer enough when expectations are already extremely elevated. Although the company delivered a massive increase in profits, investors had priced in even stronger AI-driven demand. Similar concerns previously wiped nearly $797 billion from leading U.S. technology stocks and have now spread to the memory chip manufacturers supplying the AI sector.

Throughout July, crypto markets had generally moved in line with AI and semiconductor stocks, gaining during technology rallies and declining during equity selloffs. That relationship, however, has weakened twice over the past five trading sessions.

Bitcoin remained largely unaffected during last week’s Magnificent Seven tech selloff and has continued to show strength during the latest downturn. While the recent moves are not enough to confirm a lasting change, they suggest the previous downside connection between Bitcoin and AI-related equities may be losing momentum.

Bitcoin briefly slipped below $63,000 after the Senate delayed progress on the Clarity Act on Monday. The crypto market structure bill had gained traction the previous week after reports that President Trump supported changes to its ethics provisions, but the delay created temporary uncertainty before prices recovered.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest rate decision later Wednesday, with markets currently assigning about a 15% chance of an interest rate increase. Traders will also focus on upcoming core PCE inflation figures, second-quarter GDP data, and another round of earnings reports from major technology companies.