Cryptocurrency markets took a sharp hit this week, with Dogecoin and Hyperliquid's HYPE leading the losers—both falling nearly 10%. The exodus of capital into AI-linked stocks intensified, further draining liquidity from digital assets.
DOGE and HYPE Sink; Major Coins Broadly Lower
According to CoinDesk data, Dogecoin slid 9.6% over seven days to around $0.076, while HYPE lost 9.9%, the steepest decline among major tokens. Ether dropped 8.4% to ~$1,581, and XRP fell 7.8% to $1.06. Solana and TRON held up better, roughly flat on the week at $72 and $0.32.
Bitcoin was the steadiest of the majors, but still down 5.3% to ~$60,345 by Saturday. It had dipped to about $58,800 on Friday before rebounding.
Analyst: Margin Liquidation vs. Buy Orders; Institutional Bearishness
"Bitcoin approached $58K at its lows late Thursday and early Friday, but in both cases aggressive buying quickly pushed it back into the $60K range," Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro chief market analyst, told CoinDesk. "This pattern resembles margin position liquidations during downtrend spikes, followed by strong buying on pending orders during the recovery." He added: "Given deteriorating sentiment among institutional investors and their ability to quickly divest from cryptocurrencies to stabilise their balance sheets, it is worth preparing for continued pressure and periodic sell-off spikes by leveraged traders."
AI Stocks Siphon Capital; Rotation Accelerates
The divergence with equities remains a theme. Wall Street has been rotating out of chipmakers into broader growth names. The S&P 500 closed little changed, but the equal-weighted version hit a record high. Falling oil helped sentiment, while semiconductor shares dropped after a run that still left them on track for their best quarter ever.
The swings in chip stocks point to a bigger shift. AI optimism is giving way to valuation concerns; while few think the AI trade is over, the idea that those stocks only rise is fading. Money leaving semiconductors is spreading into the rest of the market rather than exiting risk altogether—but crypto is capturing none of it.
Crypto-specific headwinds remain. Outflows from US spot bitcoin ETFs, a hawkish Federal Reserve, and a strong dollar weighed all week. Bitcoin still hovers near its 200-week moving average, a long-term line that has marked extended weak stretches before.