Bitcoin Falls Below $77,000 as US Stocks Weaken, Rate-Hike Fears Mount

Bitcoin fell below $77,000, pressured by weaker US equities, rising Treasury yields and renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

As of 10:41 a.m. Sept. 2 in Korea, Bitcoin was trading at $76,988.00 on Binance's USDT market, down 2.01% from a day earlier. On Upbit's won market, it was trading at 106.141 million won, down 0.81%.

Major altcoins also declined. Ether traded at $2,400.69 on Binance's USDT market, down 2.66% from a day earlier. XRP fell 3.13% to $1.34, while Solana dropped more than 4% to $99.21.

The slide in cryptocurrencies came as US stocks fell overnight, led by technology shares. In New York trading on Sept. 1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.79% at 52,766.88. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also fell, dropping 0.71% and 1.03%, respectively, to 7,631.47 and 26,099.77.

Losses were especially pronounced in semiconductor stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 2.1%, while Nvidia lost more than 1%. Micron Technology and AMD each ended the session down more than 2%.

Higher oil prices driven by renewed military conflict between the US and Iran, along with a sharp rise in US Treasury yields, also weighed on risk assets. The rebound in crude as geopolitical tensions flared again fueled concerns that inflation pressures could intensify once more.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to its highest level in 19 months. Market-implied odds of a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate increase in September climbed to 68.2%. Higher rates can erode the appeal of non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin and other risk assets.