Bitcoin Falls Below $77,000 as Chip Selloff Hits Asian Markets Ahead of U.S. Midterm Elections
Bitcoin fell 2% to below $77,000 during Asian trading on Tuesday, erasing its previous session's recovery as a sharp selloff in U.S. chipmakers weighed on global markets ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. The decline pushed BTC below the roughly $77,600 level it briefly reached during a late-Sunday downturn before buyers drove a short-lived rebound.
Losses extended across much of the cryptocurrency market, with Zcash (ZEC) dropping nearly 10% to around $1,140 after leading major tokens higher on Monday. Hyperliquid's HYPE token fell 5% to approximately $84, while Solana (SOL) declined 3% to about $92, according to CoinDesk data.
Major Cryptocurrencies Extend Losses
Other large-cap digital assets also traded lower. BNB fell 2%, slipping below $700, while Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) each lost about 2%. Ether traded just above $2,250, while XRP was little changed at $1.25.
TRON's TRX was the exception among the major cryptocurrencies listed in the report, gaining approximately 2%. The mixed performance came as investors reassessed risk across financial markets, with pressure on technology stocks coinciding with renewed weakness in digital assets.
Chipmaker Selloff Deepens Across Global Markets
The latest downturn followed a sustained decline in U.S. semiconductor stocks. A gauge tracking American chipmakers extended its losing streak to three days, bringing its cumulative decline over that period to 12%. The Nasdaq 100 was down 10% from its recent peak, a decline commonly classified by traders as a market correction. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%.
Asian equities followed Wall Street lower. South Korea's technology-heavy Kospi dropped more than 3%, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined nearly 1%. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday, while Chinese stocks fell despite the central bank's stated intention to encourage financial institutions to use more tools designed to support the stock market.
Chinese Yuan Ends 13-Day Winning Streak
The Chinese yuan also weakened, ending a 13-day winning streak described in the report as its longest since 1996. The move came after the People's Bank of China asked banks to increase the amount of foreign currency they hold in reserve.
Oil prices plunged amid optimism that the war in Iran could be nearing an end. However, the decline in oil prices did little to improve broader market sentiment as investors continued to navigate uncertainty across equities and cryptocurrencies.
U.S. Midterm Elections Add to Market Uncertainty
The market declines came as Americans prepared to vote in the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday. Initial election results were expected to arrive as Asian markets opened on Wednesday, placing the first indications of the outcome within the next Asian trading session.
Bitcoin's move below $77,000, alongside losses in technology stocks and several major cryptocurrencies, highlights the cautious trading environment described in the report. The available information does not establish how the election results will affect digital asset prices or whether the market declines will continue.
source: coindesk
Writer: Ethan Collins
Crypto Journalist
Ethan Collins reports on developments across the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. His work covers market movements, protocol updates, regulatory changes, and emerging trends in digital assets.
He focuses on presenting complex topics in a clear and accessible manner for a broad readership.
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