Bitcoin slipped below $60,000 and Ether fell further on Wednesday, as a selloff in AI and semiconductor stocks and increased bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike caused investors to dump risk assets across the board.
Bitcoin fell about 4% over the previous 24 hours, falling below the $60,000 level for the first time in about two weeks, while Ether fell about 5%, according to CoinGecko data. The broad crypto market followed the stocks lower: The total value locked in DeFi protocols fell to around $69.3 billion, from around $73.2 billion a day earlier, a one-day decline of around 5%, according to DefiLlama data.
A macroeconomic liquidation
The immediate trigger occurred in the stock markets. The Nasdaq Composite closed the previous session down about 2.2%, led lower by a sharp decline in semiconductor and AI-related stocks, with the closely watched chip index down about 8%.
In addition to the weakness in stocks, traders sharply increased the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year after the central bank maintained its target range between 3.50% and 3.75% but abandoned its easing bias. Higher rates drive the dollar higher and increase the opportunity cost of holding non-productive assets, a headwind for Bitcoin and Ether. The US Dollar Index has reached its highest level in over a year.
Institutional flows reinforced the pressure. Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States recorded their largest 30-day outflow on record, with redemptions spanning five consecutive weeks, according to figures released by The Kobeissi Letter. ETF redemptions force authorized participants to sell Bitcoin for cash in the market, adding mechanical selling pressure on top of macro movement.
Aave bucks the trend
In a sea of ​​red, Aave was the big winner among large-cap tokens, with its AAVE governance token up about 4% over 24 hours even as the rest of the market fell, according to CoinGecko data. Aave, one of the largest decentralized lending protocols with around $12 billion in deposits, attracted a group of bullish catalysts this month.
Standard Chartered initiated coverage of Aave on Tuesday with a price target of $3,500 by the end of 2030, 50 times higher than around $70 today. The same week, Aave released a security audit related to its V4 upgrade and its founder Stani Kulechov presented a proposal to integrate traditional on-chain securities finance markets.
Latecomers
The sell-off hit high-beta large caps hardest. Cardano’s ADA token slipped about 6% over 24 hours, the worst performer among major tokens, while Dogecoin’s DOGE fell about 6% and Chainlink’s LINK fell about 5%, all underperforming Bitcoin’s 4% decline, according to CoinGecko. Solana’s SOL and XRP each fell around 4%, roughly in line with Bitcoin, while BNB fell around 4%.
Tron’s TRX held up better among the majors, down less than 1%, and Hyperliquid’s HYPE fell about 3%. None of the laggards showed any token-specific catalyst that day; the moves followed a broad surge of risk aversion rather than protocol-level development.
Liquidations
The decline seems orderly rather than disorderly. Market liquidations totaled more than $700 million over 24 hours, with the vast majority hitting long positions – a sign that debt is being eliminated rather than new capital fleeing in panic. This leverage reset can reduce the risk of a sudden cascading decline.
The next catalysts are macro, not onchain. Traders are watching upcoming U.S. inflation data, which could reset expectations of high rates, as well as any stabilization in ETF flows that would signal a return of institutional demand.
