BTC faces $84K barrier while South Korean technology stocks plunge further
Cryptocurrency traders work to overcome South Korea's technology market decline as Bitcoin price action remains restricted beneath the $84,000 threshold.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin (BTC) staged a recovery moving back toward the $84,000 mark as digital asset markets managed to sidestep the fresh wave of selling pressure hitting South Korean equities.
Key points:
- BTC showed divergence from falling Asian technology equities on Tuesday, climbing back from lows around the $81,000 level.
- South Korea's KOSPI experienced a semiconductor-driven selloff as investor concerns about artificial intelligence and Chinese market rivalry intensified.
- Upward BTC price movement encountered a ceiling at $84,000 due to substantial resistance appearing on exchange order books.
KOSPI in South Korea breaks below 200-day trend line amid renewed panic
According to TradingView data, BTC/USD gained over 2.5% during Tuesday's trading session, climbing to $83,944 on the Bitstamp exchange as it recovered from Monday's decline.
These positive movements occurred while another technology sector selloff accelerated on South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index, pushing its weekly losses to 7.4%. For the first time since the final days of July, the index dropped beneath its 200-day moving average.
Stocks in the semiconductor sector experienced especially intense selling pressure, with SK Hynix shares finishing the session down more than 10%, while the broader market decline added to Samsung's existing challenges following its announcement of disappointing Q3 earnings results the previous week. International investors offloaded approximately 173 trillion won ($129 billion) in SK Hynix and Samsung securities since 2026 began, representing the overwhelming majority of KOSPI sales for the year to date.
This market weakness mirrors the August selloff, during which worries about the artificial intelligence boom and the related corporate debt burdens triggered severe losses that rapidly extended to markets worldwide.
Investors are jittery and looking for excuses to take profit on AI-related stocks that have outperformed this year, especially memory stocks.
Vey-Sern Ling, UBP senior equity advisor, told CNBC on Monday
Among those highlighting growing concerns, Ling pointed to competition from China as an increasingly significant challenge for Korean market participants, though he noted that the Chinese semiconductor sector continued to confront "technology hurdles."
BTC price stages recovery despite diminishing ETF demand
Unlike the August market rout, Bitcoin managed to avoid following a similar trajectory and instead advanced toward the top portion of its recent trading channel spanning $80,000 to $87,000.
During the previous episode, market analysts credited Bitcoin's comparative resilience to anticipated monetary policy loosening by global central banks. Critical inflation statistics for the United States are scheduled for release this week in advance of the Federal Reserve's Oct. 28 interest rate announcement, with financial markets anticipating rates will remain unchanged at their present 2.75-4% range.
The strength Bitcoin has demonstrated also persists notwithstanding reduced investor interest in BTC exposure throughout October, with US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) registering $451 million in net outflows during the month thus far, which includes $69 million in withdrawals on Monday alone.
Market traders observed that bullish participants faced difficulties maintaining prices above the $84,000 level on shorter time frames. According to CoinGlass data, a dense concentration of sell-side liquidity has accumulated on exchange order books in proximity to that price point.
