Key facts
- Ether rose approximately 12% over the past week.
- Bitcoin held above $63,000, trading around $63,207.
- Cryptocurrencies maintained strength despite a cooling AI stock rally.
- The U.S. dollar strengthened, acting as a headwind for crypto.
- Upcoming U.S. inflation data is a key factor for future market direction.
Ether led major cryptocurrencies higher over the past week, rising about 12% as bitcoin held above $63,000 and reclaimed its late-June losses. Crypto prices stayed firm even as the AI- and chip-driven stock rally lost momentum, breaking the recent pattern of money rotating out of tokens and into technology shares.
Bitcoin traded around $63,207, little changed on the day but up 5.5% over seven days, per CoinDesk data. Ether was the stronger performer over the week, up 12.4% to about $1,777, while BNB and dogecoin each gained around 5.5%. Solana held near $80.77 with an 11.2% weekly rise and Hyperliquid's HYPE led the majors, up 14.6% on the week. XRP traded at $1.14, up 9.4% over seven days.
The gains held even as the backdrop turned cautious. A rebound in semiconductor and technology shares lost steam, reviving doubts about how durable this year's AI-driven rally is. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.4% as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix declined, and an MSCI gauge of Asian chipmakers slipped. Brent crude fell 0.6% to about $71.70 a barrel, easing some inflation pressure ahead of the U.S. price data due later this month.
The dollar strengthened against all its major peers, a headwind for crypto that has tracked the currency's moves through the past quarter. That crypto stayed firm while the AI trade wobbled is the shift worth watching. For most of the past quarter, money has rotated out of crypto and into chip and AI stocks, and cracks in that trade tended to pull the token market down with the rest of risk.
Bitcoin begins the week having recovered the ground it lost in late June, with the next move likely to hinge on the coming inflation print and whether the majors can hold up as U.S. trading returns to full volume. Traders may assess the hold above $63,000 as the recovery's first real sign of staying power, though a still-strong dollar and an uncertain AI trade leave the market without a clear catalyst to push higher.