Bitcoin (BTC) fell to its lowest levels in over three weeks on Thursday as crypto tracked fresh losses on South Korean stock markets.
Key points:
- Bitcoin reached new local lows of $80,154 as downside pressure returned to South Korean equities.
- The KOSPI closed Thursday at 5,554 points, its lowest since early April, driven by a rout in tech stocks.
- Oil prices cooled, with Brent crude dropping more than 2% despite an “unjustifiable” Singapore fuel-tanker strike in the Strait of Hormuz.
Bitcoin price nears $80,000 as KOSPI falls 7.5%
Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $80,154 on Bitstamp, a level last seen on Sept. 20.
BTC/USD one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
The weakness came after South Korea’s Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or KOSPI, finished the day 7.5% lower, taking week-to-date losses to 15.5%.
KOSPI Composite Index one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
As with earlier in the week, tech giants bore the brunt of the sell-off, with SK Hynix down 11% and Samsung Electronics finishing 9.5% lower on the day.
SK Hynix stock one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
As Cointelegraph reported, concerns over AI debt obligations, foreign capital outflows and competition from China contributed to the South Korean market rout, with KOSPI’s 200-day moving average dropping to as low as 5,450 points, a level not seen since late July. It ended Thursday’s trading session at 5,554 points, marking its lowest daily close since April 8.
Talking to local media publication The Korea Herald, Mirae Asset Securities analyst Kim Seok-hwan warned that global macro headwinds would add further friction going forward.
“Volatility is expected to persist in the near term,” he said. “As domestic supply-demand conditions deteriorate, the market has become more sensitive to external risks, while a near-term improvement in the global environment appears unlikely.”
SK Hynix and Samsung will release third-quarter earnings data on Oct. 28 and 29, respectively, potentially adding to downside volatility in investor tech sentiment should the numbers fall short of projections. Samsung is expected to confirm Q3 sales of 195 trillion won ($145 billion) and an operating profit of around 107 trillion won ($80 billion).
Oil falls despite Singapore tanker sinking
Downside pressure on Bitcoin was compounded on the back of Wednesday’s higher-than-expected US inflation data.
The September print of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 3.7% year-on-year, sparking a hawkish shift in market expectations of further interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
“Does the beat force further hiking — or does credit stress prompt policy recalibration?” trading company QCP Capital asked alongside its macro analysis seen by Cointelegraph on Thursday.
Related: CryptoQuant’s 3 charts keeping Bitcoin’s ‘Uptober’ thesis valid
With high oil prices accounting for a significant portion of the uptick in CPI, both WTI and Brent crude fell on Thursday despite mounting tensions in the Middle East. A Singapore-registered oil tanker was sunk in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a move that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore described as “unjustifiable.”
Speaking to CNBC, Firas Bechwaty, head of business development at online trading platform ICM, saw little chance of Hormuz transit volumes returning to levels from before the US-Iran war began.
“At the same time, Saudi crude continues to reach international buyers through alternative routes, while accelerated emergency stock releases by IEA members provide an additional buffer, preventing a sharp rise in prices, even as tensions remain elevated,” he observed.
At the time of writing, WTI traded below $95 per barrel, down 0.5%, while Brent was 2.2% lower at $103.7 per barrel.
CFDs on Brent crude oil one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
