bitcoinFeature
Bitcoin passes $81,000, Pepe jumps 9% amid Asian chip rally
The frog-themed memecoin pepe surged by 9.4%, leading the CoinDesk 100 Index on Wednesday.
This sharp advance followed a report from Arkham Intelligence indicating that wallets linked to Tron founder Justin Sun possess approximately $51 million of the token, positioning him as the largest holder outside exchanges.
Bitcoin climbed above $81,400 on Monday, rising about 0.8% since midnight UTC, after having dipped below $80,000 on Tuesday. This rebound coincided with an AI stock rally emanating from Asia.
Asian chip stocks fueled a resurgence in AI shares, with South Korea’s Kospi index jumping 6.6%. SK Hynix experienced a significant surge of around 11% after disclosing a sevenfold increase in its profits. Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.5% during this period.
In related market movements, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of $176 million on Tuesday, marking a second consecutive day of capital entering these vehicles, according to Farside Investors.
The broader altcoin market also displayed resilience; Ether gained 0.9%, and the CoinDesk Memecoin Index advanced 1.3%. Meanwhile, Floki and dogecoin climbed by 3.4% and 1.9% respectively.
However, not all tokens reflected the AI stock upturn. Tokens tied to AI proved weak for a second day, with venice VVV dropping 8.2%, grass GRASS falling 3.3%, and kite KITE losing 2.4%.
DeFi tokens also lagged the broader market, with CoinDesk’s DeFi Index (DFX) rising by only 0.6%, the smallest gain among the CoinDesk Indices.
Traders await the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision at 18:00 UTC, with CME’s FedWatch tool suggesting a roughly 92% probability of no change. Chair Kevin Wash's press conference will offer further insight into potential rate increases.
Why it matters
Market sentiment is currently being influenced by tech sector strength in Asia, which is spilling into crypto gains. Traders are also watching the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision for further market direction.
