Bitcoin and Ethereum closed on July 2 nearly unchanged, despite a selloff in chipmaker stocks, according to a Saxo Bank report.

As per the bank, Bitcoin traded around $61,400, while Ethereum hovered near $1,700. 

Daily chart of BTC/USDT on Binance. Data: TradingView. Daily chart of ETH/USDT on Binance. Data: TradingView.

Both assets remained relatively stable as the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.8% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped by 5.4%.

Source: Nasdaq. Source: Nasdaq.

The selloff in chipmaker stocks was localized. The Dow Jones rose by 1.1% to a record high, while the S&P 500 remained nearly unchanged, with the pressure mainly affecting the Nasdaq and the semiconductor sector.

In the volatility block, Saxo noted that the VIX fell by 2.65% to 16.15, while the Nasdaq VXN increased by 1.05% to 27.98. This indicates not a general retreat from risk by investors, but stress within the tech segment.

The report stated that chipmakers extended a two-day decline of 11% amid concerns about valuations of companies linked to AI infrastructure. Reuters, citing BofA Global Research, noted that the bubble risk indicator for the PHLX Semiconductor Sector reached 0.91 on a scale from 0 to 1, while the Technology Select Sector indicator stood at 0.82.

According to Saxo, Asian markets began to recover on July 3: the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan rose by 2.2%, the Kospi by 5%, and the Nikkei by 1.5%. Shares of SK Hynix gained 11.3%, and Samsung Electronics rose by 9.1% following the previous selloff.

The main macroeconomic event was the June employment report from the U.S. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payrolls increased by 57,000, and the unemployment rate was 4.2%. 

For digital assets, the weak employment report acted as a factor reducing pressure from interest rates, analysts noted. The data diminished the likelihood of an imminent rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

In this context, the dollar weakened after the data release. Short-term U.S. Treasury bonds rose in price: the yield on two-year notes fell by about 7 basis points after the report before partially recovering and ending the day slightly below 4.14%.

Saxo estimated that this reduced pressure from dollar liquidity for Bitcoin and Ethereum; however, within the crypto market, it remained: in June, U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs recorded a combined net outflow of over $4.5 billion.

At the same time, shares of mining companies sharply diverged from the performance of the two leading assets and fell. Over the past day:

Earlier, it was reported that major Bitcoin miners are increasingly relocating energy facilities and network connection infrastructure to data centers for AI and high-performance computing. The Japanese financial conglomerate SBI's subsidiary, SBI Crypto, even announced the closure of its pool in the first cryptocurrency network. 

It is worth noting that Bitcoin fell by approximately 20% in June, dropping below $60,000. This marked the worst monthly performance in four years.