Bitcoin slides below $82,000 as AI doubts return, with DeFi tokens leading declines
Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency markets experienced a significant downturn as global stock indices in Asia and the U.S. faced downward pressure. DeFi tokens and various altcoins saw sharper declines than Bitcoin, despite recent inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Why it matters
The synchronized decline of crypto assets and global equity markets suggests a broader risk-off sentiment among investors influenced by macroeconomic uncertainty.
Chinese stocks entered a bear market, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell more 3%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.5% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 2.7%. Nasdaq 100 index futures dropped 1.32% and S&P 500 futures 0.66%.
Altcoins fell even harder than bitcoin, with the CoinDesk 80 (CD80) recently down 3.2% compared with 2.5% for the CoinDesk 5 (CD5). Ether ETH $2,490.55 lost 2.6% to near $2,400. DeFi bore the brunt, with the sector index (DFX) sliding 5.6%.
Spot bitcoin ETFs took in more than $1 billion over the first three days of the week, according to SoSoValue data, and Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade went live overnight, though SOL fell 2.4% to around $104. U.S. jobless claims are due later today.
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