Bitcoin traded near $65,400 in Friday’s Asian session, barely moving despite a sharp selloff in major U.S. technology stocks that erased nearly $797 billion in market value on Thursday, according to CoinDesk.
The Magnificent Seven megacap technology stocks fell 4.8% on Thursday following earnings reports from Alphabet and Tesla that stoked concerns about artificial intelligence capital spending. Alphabet raised its capital expenditure forecast for 2026 following Wednesday’s close. Tesla reported profits well below expectations. The broader S&P 500 declined 1.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.9%.
Bitcoin’s 1% daily decline stood well below the tech sector’s losses. The cryptocurrency gained 3% over the week. Other digital assets fell more sharply: Ether dropped 3% to $1,879, Dogecoin declined 5% to $0.069, XRP fell 2% to $1.11, and Solana slid 3% to $76.
AI Spending Concerns Drive Tech Selloff
Alphabet’s decision to raise its capex forecast underscored the scale of planned AI infrastructure investment. Tesla CEO Elon Musk characterized the spending environment as “a massive capex year,” signaling that technology companies view AI buildout as essential despite market uncertainty about when returns will materialize.
The Magnificent Seven has driven U.S. stock performance for three years. The group fell 11% below its late-May record peak on Thursday’s selloff, erasing $2 trillion in total value from the group since that high.
Bitcoin’s Relationship to AI Trade Under Scrutiny
Bitcoin has tracked the AI trade closely throughout July, rising when chip stocks rallied and falling when they wobbled. Bitcoin’s miners have rebuilt themselves as AI data-center operators, creating a structural link between cryptocurrency prices and technology spending cycles.
Whether Friday’s price resilience represents genuine decoupling from the AI trade or a single-session anomaly remains unproven. Bitcoin’s connection to AI spending may transmit more slowly on downside moves than upside rallies due to miners’ AI data-center operations, which could cushion cryptocurrency prices when technology stocks face selling pressure.
The Magnificent Seven’s previous worst day came in April 2025 during a tariff-driven selloff, providing historical context for the scale of Thursday’s decline.
