- Stocks in the US endured a massive selloff with more than $1 trillion wiped out on the day.
- Bitcoin prices weren’t spared either — the token plunged 5% to dive under $64,000 a coin.
- Risk-conscious investors pulled back from risk assets as uncertainty prevailed.
US Stocks Sell Off, Bitcoin Catches Bearish Momentum
The stock markets in the US witnessed a massive selloff wave on Wednesday, wiping out more than $1.1 trillion of the broader stock market — the S&P 500. The broad-based equity index, valued at $46 trillion, lost 2.3% during the session as risk-conscious investors pivoted away from risk assets and into the perceived safety of the US dollar.
The selloff was so severe it didn’t spare the crypto corner. Digital assets, notorious for their inherent volatility and rapid price swings, lost about 2% of its overall market capitalization and Bitcoin was the heaviest decliner of all.
Bitcoin slipped about 5% on the day, moving to levels under $64,000 from a previous high watermark of $67,000 per coin. The broad-based crypto rout was more or less in line with a bruising selling momentum in the technology sector. The biggest tech names out there — Nvidia, Apple, Meta, Google, and Tesla — ended the session in red with EV maker Tesla being the biggest loser. Shares of the company were down 12% by the time the session ended.
Big Tech Starts Off Earnings Season on Wrong Footing
What sparked this wave of volatility to the downside? A day earlier, in after-hours trading, Google parent Alphabet and Tesla reported second-quarter earnings data. Both companies failed to impress with the financial figures for the spring quarter and investors took that as a sign that maybe the entire tech industry is at risk of underperforming for the quarter.
With the bigger portion of big tech yet to deliver financial updates for the three months to June, investors decided they were better off not taking the risk of holding stocks that may see a sudden reversal from a monthslong rally that lifted stocks to records.
Bitcoin Trades Unchanged at $64,000 on Thursday
In that light, the price of Bitcoin remained subdued around the $64,000 mark early Thursday. The original cryptocurrency floated fairly flat and pretty much unchanged to start the day. Its closest peer — Ethereum — underwent a wake-up call, too. The second-largest cryptocurrency was showered with attention on Tuesday only to be shunted aside a day later.
Ethereum ETFs Arrive, Price Drops 6% a Day Later
A total of nine Ethereum ETFs that hold the actual product launched for trading in the US on Tuesday. The event picked up more than $100 million in net inflows — the difference between withdrawals and deposits — and generated more than $1 billion in trading volume on day one.
On day two, however, it was a different story. Ether tumbled about 6% to trade near $3,100, down from $3,460 a day earlier.
