Weekend Coin Prices》BTC Hits the $64k Threshold—Fear Index at 25, Extreme Panic as US AI Chip Stocks Plunge and Oil Prices Surge

Bitcoin held the 64k USD level firmly over the weekend, with a slight 0.82% gain over the past 24 hours; it is currently trading at about $63,960, showing relative downside resilience amid the broader market storm. But across the whole network, 96k liquidations occurred in the past 24 hours, totaling $304 million. Market sentiment has sunk to a freezing point: the Fear and Greed Index fell to 25, hitting “extreme fear.” At the same time, US stocks AI chip names plunged, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slipped into a bear market. International oil prices surged by more than 4% due to the US-Iran conflict.
(Background recap: A brutal sell-off in US stocks swept into crypto—“Bitcoin falls through 64k!” 85k liquidations totaling $330 million, with long positions accounting for 84%)
(Extra context: WSJ: Trump is considering upgrading the US-Iran conflict—Killing attention to Qahagh Island, bombing nuclear facilities, and expanding airstrikes are all on the table)

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• 96k people liquidated in 24 hours, $304 million; longs account for over 60%
• US AI chip crash, Philly Semis falls into bear market; oil prices surge on US-Iran conflict
• Solana and Ripple close slightly higher; major coins hold steady
• ETF buying returns—focus point

Bitcoin saw a weekend move of “bloodbath in the periphery, but it holds the line.” Over the past 24 hours, BTC dipped to $62,537 before rebounding; the high reached $64,388. It is now around $63,960, up 0.82%, having reclaimed the level above the $64k threshold again. Compared with the weekly swing high of $65,385 reached on July 15, Bitcoin is still in a pullback and consolidation phase—but in the squeeze of a US stock rout and a wild oil price surge, it has demonstrated rare staying power.

Ethereum, meanwhile, is comparatively weaker, down 0.27% over 24 hours; it briefly broke below $1,803 and is currently around $1,842.

96k people liquidated in 24 hours, $304 million; longs account for over 60%

According to CoinGlass data, over the past 24 hours a total of 96,105 people across the entire market were liquidated, with liquidation totals reaching $304 million. Of this, long liquidations were $194 million, accounting for about 63.7%; short liquidations were $110 million. This reflects that during the process of falling back from the weekly high, the leveraged players chasing longs remained the primary victims. The single largest liquidation came from Binance ETHUSDT, valued at $7.78 million.

However, if the window is shortened to the last 12 hours, the situation is the opposite. During this period, $89.23 million was liquidated, of which $66.79 million came from short positions (about 75%), indicating that Bitcoin’s rebound to $64k this morning has squeezed out a batch of positions that were chasing shorts—again underscoring the intense tug-of-war between bulls and bears at this price level.

US AI chip crash, Philly Semis slides into a bear market; oil prices surge on US-Iran conflict

The real source of pressure comes from traditional financial markets. Last Friday (July 17), US stocks turned lower again. The S&P 500 fell 1.01% to close at 7,457.69, the Nasdaq sank 1.4% to 25,520.24, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also dropped 406 points to close at 52,146.42. For the week, the three major indexes fell 1.6%, 2.9%, and 0.9%, respectively.

The worst part was the chip sector. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index officially entered a bear market. Nvidia (Nvidia) slid 3.78% in a single day, while AMD, Arm, Oracle, Broadcom, Super Micro and Marvell all fell by more than 5%. This wave of selling pressure comes partly from market concerns that AI mega data center operators will slow capital expenditure, and partly from the darker side of China’s new venture Moonshot AI introducing a model targeting top US-level performance, raising worries that sales of US chipmakers and model companies could be eroded.

Meanwhile, international oil prices are also surging as the US and Iran conflict escalates. Kuwait accused Iran of attacking its power generation and seawater desalination plants, while Iran said it has retaliated against US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, and other places. The risk around the Strait of Hormuz—home to roughly 20% of global seaborne crude oil—has rapidly risen. Brent crude rose about 4.6% to close at $88.10 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose about 4.5% to close at $82.49. Higher oil prices reignited concerns about sticky inflation, casting a shadow over interest-rate-cut expectations that had risen after June CPI cooled.

Solana and Ripple close slightly higher; major coins hold steady

Other major coins also showed a “small gain and sideways consolidation” pattern. Solana (SOL) is up 0.39% over 24 hours, at about $75.23, though it remains below the July 4 swing high of $83.43. Ripple (XRP) is up 0.30%, at about $1.09. Overall, major cryptocurrencies did not follow US stocks into a collapse over the weekend; instead, they each held key levels, sharply contrasting with the trajectory of risk assets outside crypto.

ETF buying returning is a key point to watch

Even though prices held steady, market sentiment remains quite cold. Today the Crypto Fear and Greed Index is 25, in the “extreme fear” zone. This is worse than yesterday’s 27 (fear) and last week’s 26 (fear), reflecting investors staying cautious about the outlook. Still, compared with a month ago when it was 15, fear has eased slightly.

Notably, spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs both flipped from net outflows to net inflows last week, suggesting institutional buying may be returning. On the other hand, MicroStrategy—the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder—has already sold $218 million worth of Bitcoin this year to repay preferred share debt, and has been authorized to sell up to $1.25 billion more.

Under the double squeeze of a loosening of the US AI narrative and rising geopolitical risk, whether Bitcoin can hold $64k and avoid the “painful pullback” warned by a Bloomberg analyst will be the key thing to watch next week.