Samsung and SK Hynix shares jumped more than 23%, while Bitcoin remained largely unchanged over the previous 24 hours, leaving most major cryptocurrencies still lower for the week.
Crypto markets showed little response to one of the year’s biggest stock market rallies on Friday, with Bitcoin hovering around $64,300 as South Korean equities delivered a record recovery after two weeks of steep losses.
Major cryptocurrencies traded mostly sideways. Ether was priced near $1,907, XRP around $1.08, Solana at $74, and Dogecoin at $0.07. Bitcoin recorded approximately $27 billion in trading volume, while Ether saw about $7 billion. BNB was the standout performer among large-cap tokens, gaining 3% to reach $590 and remaining the only major cryptocurrency with a significant weekly increase. Bitcoin briefly climbed to $65,300 during early Asian trading before quickly pulling back.
Weekly performance remained subdued across the market. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token declined 5% over the past seven days, Solana and XRP each fell 3%, and Bitcoin slipped 2%. Ether and Dogecoin posted modest gains of around 1% during the same period.
Equity markets, however, moved sharply higher. South Korea’s Kospi surged as much as 17%, rebounding after a three-day selloff that had pushed the index more than 40% below its June peak. Semiconductor stocks fueled the recovery, with Samsung and SK Hynix both rising more than 23% and Taiwan Semiconductor gaining 10%, making chipmakers the largest contributors to the broader Asian market rally.
The move came after U.S. semiconductor stocks recorded their strongest rally in more than a year, helping the Nasdaq 100 break a six-session losing streak. Amazon climbed nearly 10% in after-hours trading following better-than-expected cloud earnings, while Apple dropped 6% as supply challenges weighed on its sales outlook.
Bitcoin had largely tracked semiconductor stocks throughout July, moving alongside the broader chip sector. However, the cryptocurrency remained resilient through last Thursday’s $797 billion decline in U.S. mega-cap technology stocks, Korea’s historic two-day market crash, and the latest equity rebound.
A significant Bitcoin wallet security breach also failed to influence prices. Around 594 BTC, valued at approximately $38 million, was drained from nearly 500 wallets on Thursday due to a flaw in Coldcard hardware wallet key generation. Despite the incident, Bitcoin’s price showed little reaction.
In the foreign exchange market, the yen weakened after surrendering part of Thursday’s gains, which marked its biggest one-day advance against the dollar in more than two years following another round of Japanese government intervention.
The currency continued to decline after the Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged, matching market expectations. Treasury prices advanced alongside the dollar, while oil prices extended their recent decline.
