Ether falls twice as hard as bitcoin and HYPE drops 10% as the chip trade unwinds

Markets Ether falls twice as hard as bitcoin and HYPE drops 10% as the chip trade unwinds Japan's Nikkei had its worst day since March. Ether is still the only major holding a gain on the week, barely. By Shaurya Malwa Jul 17, 2026, 7:29 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Summary Show A sharp sell-off in Asian semiconductor stocks, led by steep drops in Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan Semiconductor, spilled into crypto markets and dragged major tokens lower on Friday. Ether fell about 4 percent to $1,850, underperforming bitcoin despite strong inflows of nearly $97 million into U.S. spot ether ETFs this week, most of it into BlackRock’s funds. Market participants describe the move as consolidation under resistance rather than a confirmed reversal, even as sentiment gauges sit in extreme fear and oil prices surge on escalating Middle East tensions. Ether (ETH) fell twice as hard as bitcoin on Friday and hyperliquid's HYPE fell more than five times as hard, as a selloff in Asian semiconductor shares dragged every major cryptocurrency lower. Ether dropped 4% to $1,850, though it remains up 4% over seven sessions and is the only major still green on the week. HYPE was the worst of them at $60, down 10% on the day and 12% on the week, its steepest stretch since June. Solana slid 2% to $75 and is off 5% for the week. XRP eased 2% to $1.09, BNB fell 2% to $571, TRON slipped to 32 cents and dogecoin lost 2%. Bitcoin held up best of the group, down 2% to about $63,400 and 1% on the week after failing twice at $65,000. The selling started in semiconductors. MSCI's Asia Pacific equities gauge dropped 3%, heading for its lowest close in two months, while Japan's Nikkei 225 slumped 5% in its worst session since March. Taiwan Semiconductor was on track for its biggest one-day decline since April 2025 and Japan's Kioxia sank as much as 16%. Last Friday bitcoin rose 4% on the day South Korea's Kospi jumped 8% and SK Hynix priced $26.5 billion of American depositary shares. Investors are now asking whether this year's AI rally moved too far too fast, and the answer is arriving in the chip tape rather than in anything onchain. Ether's drop is the one worth watching. U.S. spot ether ETFs took in nearly $97 million over the first three days of this week, more than they gathered across all of last week, with BlackRock's funds accounting for almost all of it . That bid did not stop ether from falling harder than bitcoin when the chip tape turned. Wintermute's OTC desk described the week as "consolidation under resistance rather than continuation," noting in an email that spot volumes fell rather than rose into the highs. Glassnode's onchain metrics have yet to confirm a reversal, and the Fear and Greed Index at 25 remains in extreme fear. Meanwhile, oil is doing the opposite of everything else. Brent rebounded to about $85 a barrel and is up 12% on the week, its biggest weekly gain since April, as hostilities escalated and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz thinned. That is the fifth day of U.S. strikes on Iran, and it is rekindling inflation worries that Tuesday's data had just calmed. Latest Crypto News 1 This $28 million ether market bet aims to profit from pure market chaos 53 minutes ago 2 Bitcoin Ordinals leader proposes a way to bypass data restriction efforts 2 hours ago 3 Bitcoin under $63,000 after new U.S. strike on Iran. Trump's China comment adds to uncertainty 4 hours ago 4 $1.9 trillion asset manager T. Rowe Price bets on active management with first multi-token crypto ETF 13 hours ago 5 Citadel Securities invests $400 million in Crypto.com, valuing exchange at $20 billion 14 hours ago 6 Stripe’s $53 billion PayPal bid is a high-stakes play to own the future of digital payments 15 hours ago 7 Visa backs Open USD with new stablecoin platform as Circle faces fresh competition 16 hours ago 8 Keyrock acquires BlockFills trading assets to expand institutional crypto business 16 hours ago 9 The Clarity Act is the most important consumer protection effort in years 17 hours ago 10 Crypto for Advisors: Strengthening defenses against AI fraud 17 hours ago Latest Research Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months Gate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five Months CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. By CoinDesk Research Jul 13, 2026 CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. Why it matters : CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. View Full Report More From Markets This $28 million ether market bet aims to profit from pure market chaos Bitcoin under $63,000 after new U.S. strike on Iran. Trump's China comment adds to uncertainty $1.9 trillion asset manager T. Rowe Price bets on active management with first multi-token crypto ETF