Key Highlights
- Bitcoin descended to $79,200, surrendering the critical $80,000 support zone that had remained intact throughout much of the previous week
- Solana experienced the steepest decline among major cryptocurrencies, plunging 5.6% to $90, with Dogecoin standing as the sole gainer
- China’s President Xi Jinping issued a stern Taiwan warning to Trump during their high-stakes Beijing meeting
- Consecutive inflation shocks — CPI reaching 3.8% and PPI surging 1.4% monthly — have muddied the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy trajectory
- Equity index futures showed resilience, with Cisco stock rocketing 20% following impressive quarterly results
Bitcoin tumbled beneath the psychologically important $80,000 threshold Thursday as dual headwinds converged on financial markets. Escalating geopolitical friction stemming from the Trump-Xi Beijing summit combined with consecutive inflation data surprises to drag down digital assets and select equity positions.
Bitcoin changed hands at $79,200 during Asian trading sessions, representing a 2.3% decline across the trailing 24-hour period. The $80,000 threshold, which had served as reliable support throughout the majority of the preceding week, finally gave way.
Solana suffered the most significant setback, retreating 5.6% to $90 and erasing the bulk of appreciation accumulated over the prior fortnight. The token had been among the top performers in the altcoin space during that timeframe.
Ether declined 2.1% to $2,250, registering a 3% weekly loss. This performance positioned it as the second-weakest major cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin.
BNB decreased 1.6% to $660 while maintaining a 3.9% gain on the weekly chart. XRP edged down 1.7% to $1.43. Dogecoin bucked the trend as the only major asset in positive territory, advancing 0.9% to $0.1126.
Back-to-Back Inflation Shocks Weigh on Sentiment
Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index registered at 3.8%, marking the most elevated reading in nearly three years. Wednesday delivered another unwelcome surprise when the Producer Price Index printed at 1.4% month-over-month, substantially exceeding the 0.5% consensus estimate, with the annual figure hitting 6%.
The consecutive hot inflation prints cast doubt on the Federal Reserve’s ability to implement interest rate reductions this year. Anticipated rate cuts had been a cornerstone of bullish crypto market expectations.
The digital asset selloff unfolded as President Trump touched down in Beijing for the first visit by an incumbent US president to China in approximately a decade. High-profile CEOs including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tesla’s Elon Musk, and Apple’s Tim Cook accompanied him on the trip.
Taiwan Issue Takes Center Stage as Xi Issues Warning
Xi Jinping cautioned Trump that mismanagement of the Taiwan question could trigger a “collision or even clashes.” Beijing’s official account of these statements was disseminated before the bilateral meeting had even wrapped up, amplifying market jitters.
Asian equity markets oscillated between positive and negative territory. The MSCI Asia Pacific benchmark dipped 0.1% after climbing as high as 0.8% during earlier trading. Mainland Chinese equities retreated 1.3%.
The offshore yuan appreciated for an 11th consecutive session, representing its longest winning run since September 2017, indicating certain investors are positioning for potential summit outcomes.
US equity futures demonstrated greater stability. Dow futures advanced 0.2%, S&P 500 futures edged up 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained approximately 0.5%.
Cisco stock skyrocketed 20% in extended trading following better-than-anticipated revenue figures. The networking giant also unveiled an AI-centric reorganization plan that includes eliminating roughly 4,000 positions.
An Asian technology stock index reached an all-time high, climbing 2.3%. The artificial intelligence investment theme remained intact despite broader risk-off market conditions.
For Bitcoin, the next critical support zone sits at $78,000, which represented the early-May trough before the surge toward $82,000. A breakdown below that level would shift attention to late-April lows.
The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the incoming Federal Reserve chair. Applied Materials and Klarna are scheduled to release quarterly earnings Thursday.
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