Live updates: Bitcoin holding $64,000 as AI momentum stocks continue to tumble

coverage endedJul 16, 2026, 9:15 PMLive updates: Bitcoin holding $64,000 as AI momentum stocks continue to tumbleBlockchain investigator ZachXBT came down heavily on hardware wallets. BTC traded steady near $65,000 after South Korea's rate hike.Bitcoin's 24 hour performance. (CoinDesk data)Bitcoin's failures at $65,000 suggests lack of conviction: WintermuteBitcoin's recent rally may be losing momentum as traders hesitate near a key resistance level, according to crypto market maker Wintermute. The firm said bitcoin has failed twice this week to break above $65,000, with profit-taking and weak spot trading volumes suggesting the move lacks conviction.On-chain data from Glassnode has yet to signal a trend reversal, while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains in "Extreme Fear" territory. Wintermute said traders are now watching several potential catalysts, including Friday's Clarity Act hearing, the second-quarter options expiry and ongoing geopolitical tensions following a fifth day of strikes involving Iran.Crypto catches bid as AI trade cracksIBIT vs SOXX since July 1 (Seeking Alpha/TradingView)It’s been taken as a shibboleth for months that the capital and investor attention chasing the AI momentum trade was among the reasons for crypto’s continuing bear market.If so, investors could be forgiven for seeing a reversal in that momentum as meaning the start of the long-awaited bull move in crypto.Since July 1, the iShares Philadelphia Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) — a very rough proxy for the AI trade — is down 17.6%. Meanwhile, the iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) is higher by 9.5%, more than 2,700 basis points of outperformance in less than three weeks.Korean leverage flush reverberates across tech“As of July 13, a total of over 1.2 million leveraged retail accounts across the Korean market triggered margin calls,” according to a Goldman Sachs note. “Approximately 320,000–360,000 accounts were fully liquidated by brokers,” the note continued.For perspective, said Goldman, South Korea has an adult population of 35.7 million, meaning about 1 in 30 adults there got margin called.Old-timers in crypto are well aware of the leverage shenanigans in Asian markets and the subsequent pricing volatility that can ensue as the tide goes out.The Nasdaq is at a session low, down 1.2%, with the Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) down 5.1%.Trying to hold on as the AI trade crumbles, bitcoin (BTC) has slipped to $64,100 down 1.3% over the past 24 hours.T. Rowe Price launches first active multi-token spot crypto fundT. Rowe Price has launched the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (TKNZ), which the firm claims is the industry's first actively managed multi-token spot exchange-traded product (ETF). TKNZ invests across a portfolio of crypto assets, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), BNB, XRP, solana (SOL) and Hyperliquid (HYPE), with managers actively adjusting holdings based on market conditions and research.The fund is managed by T. Rowe Price's digital assets team led by Blue Macellari and carries a net expense ratio of 0.75% through May 2027. TKNZ is the asset manager's first crypto-focused exchange-traded product and expands its lineup of active investment offerings into digital assets.Neocloud stocks crushed as AI momentum goes into reverseThe tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 0.8% decline is masking the continued massive sell pressure in the once-favored semiconductor, memory chip, and hardware names.To take just one gauge, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is down 4.1% on Thursday and is now lower by about 20% since hitting a record high less than one month ago.The heavy selling is spilling over into bitcoin miners, which have turned into data centers for the AI business.Just after the noon hour on the East Coast, Hut 8 (HUT), IREN (IREN), Cipher Mining (CIFR), and Bitdeer (BTDR) are among those names with declines in the 8%-11% range.Breakeven inflation rate plunges, suggesting next Fed move could be a cut“Breakevens are telling you the real story,” wrote James Thorne, chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus.The breakeven inflation rate (or “breakeven”) is the difference between the nominal treasury yield and Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS) yield of the same maturity. Macro fans keep a close eye on it as a true market indicator of inflation expectations — the lower the breakeven the lower rate of inflation expected.Noting that the breakeven has plunged to less than 2% from nearly 4% three months ago, Thorne said, “the next move for the Fed is a cut, not another hike.”“The Street clinging to ‘two more hikes’ is reading a 2026 economy with 2016 optics, ignoring both subdued inflation expectations and the supply‑side tilt of Trump‑era policy that points to non‑inflationary real growth,” he concluded.JPMorgan seeing positive things in fund flowsSpot bitcoin ETF outflows have generated a lot of news during this bear market, but the team at JPMorgan is looking elsewhere and seeing green shoots.“While bitcoin ETF flows have been rather erratic in recent weeks, with inflows last week followed by outflows this week, the inflows into Leveraged Strategy ETFs have been steadier and more positive over the past seven weeks,” wrote the bank’s analysts, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.That’s been supportive of Strategy (MSTR), they said, and helped prevent that stock from trading at a discount to net asset value.The team also noted positive flows in bitcoin futures markets and says that’s generally more reflective of institutional investor activity than of retail participation.Bitcoin holding $64,000 level as AI momentum names continue to tumbleThe Nasdaq is lower by 1% in early trading Thursday, but that’s masking far sharper declines in this year’s AI favorites.Micron, SanDisk, and Intel are among the names lower by 4%-8%. The Mag 7 names, meanwhile, are continuing their July outperformance, with most of the group little changed today.Crypto markets are lower, but seeing a hint of a bid as money exits the AI momentum names. Bitcoin is down 1% over the past 24 hours, but off session lows at $64,300.Morgan Stanley completes spot crypto trading rollout on E*TRADEMorgan Stanley has completed the rollout of spot crypto trading on its 8.6 million-customer E*Trade platform, giving customers access to bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) through linked accounts powered by zerohash. Crypto holdings appear alongside traditional investments on the ETRADE platform, while transfer functionality is expected later this year. The bank had initiated the rollout in May. The bank charges a 50-basis-point trading fee, which is lower than fees at Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD) and Charles Schwab, which range from 60 to 95 basis points. ETRADE said crypto transfer functionality is expected later this year as it continues expanding its digital asset offering.U.S. June retail sales come in soft; jobs data remains strongJune retail sales were higher by 0.2%, in line with forecasts and down from a 1% rise in May.Retail sales ex-autos, though, declined 0.2% versus expectations for just a 0.1% fall and May’s 1% rise.Balancing out that modestly weak news, initial jobless claims declined to 208,000 last week versus forecasts for 217,000 and the previous week’s 216,000.The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey for July shot higher to 41.4 from 10.3 in June. Forecasts had been for just 13.Markets are showing little reaction, bitcoin remaining at $64,100 and Nasdaq futures still lower by 0.9%.CoinDesk 20 drops 1.1% since U.S. closeHere’s a quick look at what’s been going on in the largest cryptocurrencies since the U.S. market closed at 4 p.m. ET. The CoinDesk 20 Index is trading at 17,56.14, down 1.1% (-20.25) since yesterday's close.UNI (+2.0%) and XLM (+1.0%) lead, while BCH (-2.9%) and AAVE (-2.2%) lag.Three of the 20 assets are trading higher.Nasdaq futures drop ahead of U.S. retail sales and jobs dataFutures tied to Wall Street’s tech-heavy index, the Nasdaq, fell by 0.6% Thursday alongside a near 1% decline in bitcoin’s price.Asian stocks declined, with South Korea’s Kospi index falling by over 6% and Japan’s Nikkei losing nearly 2%. Korea’s central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over three years, warning of sticky inflation.Later on Thursday, investors will get U.S. retail sales data and jobless claims data. These reports will likely be scanned for signs of whether the economy is deteriorating just enough to keep inflation under control or slipping into a destabilizing downturn.Bitfinex says bitcoin's move to $65,000 is 'borrowed strength' with no spot bid behind itBitcoin's climb toward $65,000 is a macro trade, not a crypto one, according to Bitfinex analysts.The soft June inflation print cut the odds of a July rate hike to about 12% from 42%, and the two-year Treasury yield fell 14 basis points. Bitcoin repriced higher alongside equities and other risk assets, which is the whole of the move as Bitfinex reads it.What is missing is any sign of bitcoin demand of its own. U.S. spot ETFs sold about $425 million on July 13, the day before the print. Strategy bought nothing. The Coinbase premium, the gap between bitcoin's price on the U.S. exchange and other venues that works as a rough proxy for American institutional demand, remains negative.A rally on a macro catalyst with limited spot absorption and no price-agnostic buyer is "borrowed strength" the lender can call back, the analysts said, noting that a steady bid regardless of price had been present in past bitcoin uptrends.BTC steady near $65,000 as South Korea hikes interest ratesBitcoin (BTC) traded just below $65,000 early Thursday after South Korea raised interest rates for the first time in over three years to combat inflation.The Bank of Korea’s 25 basis point hike lifted its benchmark interest rate to 2.75%, matching median estimates from economists polled by Reuters. The bank said in its statement that inflation is projected to remain elevated for some time as the impact of the rise in energy prices feeds through with a time lag.”Korea’s headline inflation jumped to 3.2%, the highest since 2023.Following the rate hike, the Korean won firmed to 1,480 per U.S. dollar, extending an appreciation trend from about 1,560 roughly two weeks ago. Bitcoin traded largely flat against the won, with the BTC/KRW pair hovering above KRW 94.96 million on leading local exchange Upbit. South Korea’s crypto market is widely seen as one of the most speculative in the world, driven by an active retail base that treats digital assets almost like high‑stakes day trading rather than long‑term investment.ZachXBT calls hardware wallets complete garbageCrypto investigator ZachXBT criticized hardware wallets Thursday, calling them unreliable for signing transactions or storing meaningful funds.In his view, all hardware wallet solutions present today fall short on security and usability, making them unsuitable for high-stakes operations. He recommends using a dedicated iPhone solely as a signing device, stripped down for wallet purposes only. This approach, he said, offers better control and fewer vulnerabilities than traditional hardware wallets, though he added the tongue-in-cheek caveat: “Only do this if you are not low iq.”The investigator singled out Ledger as the worst offender, pointing to frequent Ledger Live updates that unnecessarily overhaul the UI and apps, often breaking basic functions in the process. The post quickly sparked debate ion crypto social media, with users sharing their own experiences with hardware wallet frustrations.12345678910