The Zhitong Finance App learned that on Monday, as overall risk aversion in the market heated up before the Federal Reserve's policy meeting and investors' concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) transactions continued to increase, the cryptocurrency market was dragged down, and Bitcoin fell below $80,000. The world's largest digital asset by market capitalization once fell 1.4% to below $793,000, then the decline narrowed, hovering around $80,000 during the afternoon trading session in Asia. Smaller coins, including Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, are also falling.
The US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) experienced a net outflow of US$772.4 million last Thursday and Friday, in stark contrast to the net inflow of over US$1 billion earlier last week.
This decline was accompanied by a broader market slump, and this round of decline has continued since last week. Investors are beginning to question huge AI spending, and at the same time pay attention to the upcoming earnings reports of tech giants this week, hoping to find clues about market prospects. The Korea Composite Index (Kospi) — an index seen as a weather vane for AI trading — fell 0.2%; chip-related stocks had the highest decline in Japan's Nikkei Index.
Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, said: “So far, Bitcoin's performance has remained relatively resilient compared to AI debt concerns that are dragging down all risky assets.” “Currently, the market's focus is on the Federal Reserve meeting, followed by the US midterm elections.”
Apollo Crypto portfolio manager Pratik Kala said that for many systemic funds and algorithmic traders, Bitcoin is still in the category of risk-averse assets and is therefore vulnerable to worsening market sentiment. He pointed out that online discussions surrounding AI transactions, including SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's remarks about possible integration next year, have further increased market pressure. He added that advances in the AI field have also increased the potential security risks faced by cryptocurrencies, making some investors more cautious.