Asia Market Open: Bitcoin Falls to $72K as Tech Sell-Off Spills Into Crypto
Bitcoin tumbled 6% to $72,000 on Thursday, dragging the broader crypto market down as global tech jitters spilled into Asia. Traders remained cautious after another rough session on Wall Street, with risk appetite staying muted across both equities and crypto.
Forced selling intensified as prices slid. Data from CoinGlass showed $627.96 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, led by Bitcoin at $255.4 million, Ether at $181.75 million, and Solana at $70.84 million. Smaller tokens accounted for another $24 million.
Crypto snapshot:
Bitcoin: $72,209, down 5.1%
Ether: $2,137, down 5.3%
XRP: $1.47, down 7.2%
Total crypto market cap: $2.53 trillion, down 4.4%
Asian Equities Slide as Tech Fears Spread
Asian markets opened on the back foot. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index (ex-Japan) fell 1%, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.7%, and Taiwan’s benchmark lost 0.7%. China’s CSI300 slipped 0.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei remained flat.
Sentiment was hit by ongoing worries about AI spending. Alphabet’s recent capital expenditure forecast of $175–185 billion caused its shares to swing in after-hours trading before settling 0.4% lower.
Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at XS.com, said:
“Crypto is feeling the drag from weak broader-market sentiment, ongoing AI battles, and thinning liquidity. Futures traders are retreating, and spot ETF flows remain unsustainable. Combine that with geopolitical risks and upcoming economic data, and traders are on edge.”
Wall Street Recap
US equities struggled Wednesday as investors questioned lofty valuations and whether the AI rally is peaking.
S&P 500: down 0.51%
Nasdaq: down 1.51%
Dow Jones: up 0.53% to 49,501.30
Chipmakers were hit hard. AMD dropped 17% after a disappointing revenue forecast, Nvidia fell 3.4%, the PHLX Semiconductor Index slid 4.4%, and Palantir reversed the previous day’s gains with a nearly 12% loss.
Still, futures showed some stabilization. Nvidia gained almost 2% after the bell, lifting Nasdaq futures 0.6% and S&P 500 futures 0.4%, as investors rotated from expensive growth names into value and cyclical stocks. The S&P 500 value index extended its gains for a fifth session.
Macro Signals & Commodities
Investors are also eyeing economic signals. The January US jobs report was delayed to Feb. 11 after a four-day government shutdown, while ADP data showed weaker private payroll growth, with job losses in services and manufacturing.
In commodities, oil fell after two days of gains as the US and Iran agreed to talks in Oman.
WTI: $64.23, down 1.4%
Brent: $68.47, down 1.4%
Meanwhile, gold and silver ticked higher in early Asian trade following last Friday’s sharp declines.
