Major cryptocurrencies remained largely unchanged on Thursday as the semiconductor selloff that had weighed on markets for two weeks began to show signs of easing. Still, most leading tokens are lower for the week, with Hyperliquid’s HYPE suffering the steepest decline among major assets, down 8%.
Bitcoin traded around $64,100 and ether hovered near $1,905, with both showing little movement over the last 24 hours. XRP was priced near $1.07, while solana stood at roughly $74, BNB traded around $572, and TRON remained close to $0.33. HYPE slipped to about $54. Trading activity was moderate, with bitcoin recording nearly $28 billion in volume and ether seeing about $10 billion.
The shift in market sentiment came after Samsung reported a dramatic increase in semiconductor profits, boosted by strong demand and shortages in AI memory chips. South Korea’s Kospi swung sharply during the session, rising as much as 6% before giving back gains and briefly turning negative, following a decline of more than 40% from its June peak.
Samsung’s market reaction reflected the high expectations surrounding the chip sector. Despite profits surging more than 250 times, the company’s shares gained only around 2%. SK Hynix delivered a 557% profit increase on Wednesday but saw its stock plunge 17%. Investors are increasingly focused not just on strong earnings, but on whether companies can outperform already aggressive forecasts.
U.S. markets also received mixed earnings signals overnight. Microsoft shares jumped nearly 9% in after-hours trading after its cloud division recorded its fastest growth in four years, while Meta dropped 8% after issuing a weaker revenue outlook. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1% after the index slipped into correction territory on Wednesday.
The broader weekly crypto picture remains weaker despite Thursday’s calm trading. HYPE has declined 8% over the past seven sessions, making it the biggest loser among major tokens. XRP has fallen 6%, solana is down 5%, dogecoin has dropped 4% to $0.07, and bitcoin has declined 3%. BNB remains the only major cryptocurrency posting a weekly gain, though the increase is marginal.
A key takeaway is that crypto has shown surprising resilience despite recent turmoil in equity markets. Bitcoin had closely followed semiconductor stocks throughout much of July, moving alongside the AI and technology trade.
The asset managed to hold steady through last week’s $797 billion decline in U.S. mega-cap technology stocks and South Korea’s sharp market downturn. The broader weakness across altcoins appears to be driven more by reduced liquidity conditions than by direct concerns from equity markets.
