Morning Minute: Crypto Majors Slide on Iran Escalations, ETF Outflows

IonQ shares fell about 12.3% by 12:40 p.m. ET Friday, with no company-specific negative news cited (no earnings miss, analyst downgrade, or price-target cut). The article attributes the drop to a broader “risk-off” selloff in tech, alongside declines in Bitcoin, Nvidia, and Micron. It links investor caution to Broadcom’s warning that AI-chip sales will “only” triple in Q3.

U.S. stocks fell after a stronger-than-expected jobs report Friday. By 1:18 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite was down nearly 3%, the S&P 500 fell 1.8%, and the Dow slipped 0.8%, with tech down 4.3% and defensives higher. May nonfarm payrolls rose 172,000 (vs. 86,000 expected) and unemployment held at 4.3%, prompting traders to price a quarter-point rate hike by end-2026.

Bitcoin fell nearly 15% this week to around $62,500, while Ethereum dropped more than 17% to its lowest level since April 2025, according to the article. It cites extreme “fear” (Crypto Fear & Greed index at 17), weaker spot volumes (CryptoQuant), rising liquidations (~$1.2B/24h, Coinglass), and crypto ETF outflows. A strong US jobs report reduced rate-cut expectations, per BeInCrypto.

Arthur Hayes said on X that macro shifts led him to sell his HYPE position after a $100,000 bet, citing higher energy prices from the Iran war, inventory restocking, expected AI IPOs, a view that Trump may pivot against AI for midterms, and an expectation that market highs come before September. On-chain data showed about $18M in HYPE moved to Flowdesk. Separately, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw continued outflows, while HYPE ETFs stayed net positive.

The article says SpaceX’s IPO could reshape capital flows and sector competition. It cites SpaceX losses of $5 billion last year and an expected valuation near $1.8 trillion, implying about 95x revenue of ~$19 billion. It also notes concerns about Nasdaq 100 fast-track inclusion and potential pressure on peers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX, and telecom firms, citing Oppenheimer’s view that Starlink may dominate internet/AI traffic.

Bitcoin fell to about $70,819, a seven-week low, near $70,000 as US-Iran tensions escalated and risk sentiment weakened. Over 24 hours, Bitcoin dropped 3.38% and crypto liquidations totaled about $744 million, with 152,000+ traders liquidated, according to Delta Exchange. CoinMarketCap put global crypto market cap at $2.43T, down 2.2%.