Daily Market Update: Bitcoin Cracks $80K, Stocks Slip as Taiwan Tensions and Hot Inflation Collide

TLDR

• Bitcoin fell to $79,200, breaking below the $80,000 support level it held for most of the past week
• Solana led crypto losses with a 5.6% drop to $90, while Dogecoin was the only major to post a gain
• Chinese President Xi warned Trump about potential conflict over Taiwan during their Beijing summit
• Back-to-back inflation surprises — CPI at 3.8% and PPI at 1.4% month-over-month — complicated the Fed’s rate path
• US stock futures edged higher, and Cisco shares jumped 20% after beating earnings expectations

Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 on Thursday as two separate pressures hit markets at the same time. Geopolitical tension from the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing and back-to-back inflation surprises pushed crypto and some equities lower.

Bitcoin traded at $79,200 during Asian hours, down 2.3% over 24 hours. The $80,000 level had held as a floor for most of the past week before breaking.

Solana dropped 5.6% to $90, giving back most of its gains from the past two weeks. It had been the strongest-performing major altcoin during that stretch.

Ether fell 2.1% to $2,250, down 3% on the seven-day chart. That made it the second-weakest performer among major cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin.

BNB shed 1.6% to $660 but held a 3.9% weekly gain. XRP slipped 1.7% to $1.43. Dogecoin was the only major in the green, up 0.9% at $0.1126.

Inflation Data Hits Sentiment

Tuesday’s CPI reading came in at 3.8%, the hottest print in nearly three years. Wednesday’s producer price index came in at 1.4% month-over-month, well above the 0.5% forecast, and 6% year-over-year.

The two readings in quick succession raised doubts about whether the Federal Reserve can cut rates later this year. Rate cuts have been one of the key factors crypto markets had been pricing in.

The crypto sell-off came as President Trump landed in Beijing for the first visit by a sitting US president to China in nearly a decade. Top CEOs including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tesla’s Elon Musk, and Apple’s Tim Cook traveled with him.

Xi’s Taiwan Warning Rattles Markets

Xi Jinping warned Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to a “collision or even clashes.” China’s readout of the remarks was released before the meeting had even concluded, which added to market uncertainty.

Asian equities swung between gains and losses. The MSCI Asia Pacific index slipped 0.1% after rising as much as 0.8% earlier. Mainland Chinese shares fell 1.3%.

The offshore yuan rose for an 11th straight day, its longest winning streak since September 2017, suggesting some investors are positioning around the summit outcome.

US stock futures held up better. Dow futures rose 0.2%, S&P 500 futures ticked up 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed around 0.5%.

Cisco shares jumped 20% in after-hours trading after reporting stronger-than-expected sales. The company also announced an AI-focused restructuring that will cut around 4,000 jobs.

A gauge of Asian technology shares hit a record high, up 2.3%. The AI-linked trade held firm even as broader risk sentiment turned cautious.

For Bitcoin, the next key level to watch is $78,000, which marked the early-May low before the rally to $82,000. A break below that would bring the late-April lows into focus.

The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. Applied Materials and Klarna are due to report earnings on Thursday.

The post Daily Market Update: Bitcoin Cracks $80K, Stocks Slip as Taiwan Tensions and Hot Inflation Collide appeared first on CoinCentral.