Bitcoin Breaks Below $60,000 as Tech Rout and Rate-Hike Bets Hit Risk Assets
Bitcoin sank below $60,000 on Wednesday and Ether slid even more as a sharp pullback in AI and semiconductor shares, combined with renewed fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike, drove a broad retreat from risk assets.
Bitcoin fell about 4% over the past 24 hours, dipping under $60,000 for the first time in roughly two weeks. Ether dropped about 5%, CoinGecko data show.
Crypto tracked equities lower. Total value locked across DeFi protocols slipped to about $69.3 billion from roughly $73.2 billion a day earlier, a one-day decline of around 5%, according to DefiLlama.
Macro Leads the Move
The selloff was rooted in equity markets. The Nasdaq Composite ended the prior session down about 2.2% as semiconductor and AI-linked names slid, with a closely watched chip index falling roughly 8%.
Rate expectations added to the pressure. Traders increased bets on a Fed hike later this year after the central bank kept its target range at 3.50% to 3.75% but removed its easing bias. Higher rates tend to support the dollar and raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin and Ether. The U.S. Dollar Index climbed to its highest level in more than a year.
Institutional flows also weighed. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest 30-day outflow on record, with redemptions extending for five consecutive weeks, according to figures circulated by The Kobeissi Letter. Redemptions can prompt authorized participants to sell spot Bitcoin into the market, adding mechanical selling pressure on top of the macro-driven move.
Aave Stands Out
Aave bucked the downturn. Its AAVE governance token rose about 4% over 24 hours even as most major tokens declined, CoinGecko data show.
Aave, a leading decentralized lending protocol with roughly $12 billion in deposits, has seen several bullish catalysts this month. Standard Chartered initiated coverage on Tuesday with a $3,500 price target for end-2030, implying about 50x upside from roughly $70 today. Aave also released a security audit tied to its V4 upgrade, and founder Stani Kulechov outlined a proposal to bring traditional securities finance markets onchain.
Biggest Laggards
Higher-beta large caps bore the brunt of the selling. Cardano's ADA fell about 6% over 24 hours, the weakest among major tokens. Dogecoin's DOGE dropped about 6% and Chainlink's LINK slid roughly 5%, each underperforming Bitcoin's 4% decline, CoinGecko data show.
Solana's SOL and XRP each fell about 4%, broadly matching Bitcoin. BNB also slipped about 4%. Tron's TRX was comparatively resilient, down less than 1%, while Hyperliquid's HYPE fell about 3%.
There were no notable token-specific catalysts among the laggards; price action largely reflected a broad risk-off unwind rather than protocol-level developments.
Liquidations Remain Controlled
The move has so far looked orderly. Total liquidations topped $700 million over 24 hours, with most of the losses coming from long positions, suggesting leverage is being reduced rather than a panic-driven rush for the exits. A leverage reset can help lower the risk of an abrupt cascade.
Near-term catalysts remain macro. Traders are focused on upcoming U.S. inflation data, which could shift rate-hike expectations, and any stabilization in ETF flows that would signal a return of institutional demand.
