Bitcoin falls below $71,000 amid an intensifying AI-driven rout in tech.

Bitcoin fell below $71,000 during Asian trading on Thursday as a renewed selloff in global technology stocks rippled through crypto markets, dimming hopes for a sustained recovery after last week’s sharp swings.

The largest cryptocurrency slid as much as 7.5% over the past 24 hours, briefly touching lows near $70,700 before trimming losses, CoinDesk data showed.

The move tracked heavy declines across Asian equities, where growing concerns about slowing earnings, elevated valuations, and signs that artificial intelligence spending may be peaking pushed investors further out of risk assets.

MSCI’s Asia technology index dropped for a fifth time in six sessions, led by steep losses in South Korea’s Kospi, which sank roughly 4% as AI-linked heavyweights came under renewed pressure.

The weakness extended losses from U.S. trading, where the Nasdaq slid after disappointing earnings from companies such as Alphabet, Qualcomm, and Arm reinforced doubts about the durability of the AI investment cycle.

Bitcoin has increasingly traded like a high-beta risk asset during equity-driven drawdowns, particularly when liquidity thins and macro uncertainty intensifies.

The latest slide follows choppy price action earlier this week, when bitcoin dipped toward $73,000 before rebounding above $76,000—moves that some traders said reflected fragile positioning rather than a clear shift in trend.

“Bitcoin’s move below the low-$70,000s has accelerated a broader deleveraging, flushing out crowded positioning built during the post-ETF rally,” said Wenny Cai, chief operating officer at Synfutures. “Liquidations have been heavy, sentiment has turned decisively risk-off, and price action is now being driven more by balance-sheet mechanics than by narrative.”

“This doesn’t mark the end of institutional participation, but it does signal the end of complacency,” Cai added.

Selling pressure was compounded by sharp moves in commodities, with silver plunging as much as 17% and gold falling more than 3%, extending a violent unwind that has already triggered heavy liquidations in tokenized metals products on crypto trading platforms.