Ex-Fidelity Exec: Kospi Crash Pulled Bitcoin Below $60,000

Mike McCluskey, co‑founder of Tx and a former Fidelity executive, linked bitcoin’s midweek slide to a sharp drop in South Korea’s Kospi on June 23. The index fell roughly 8% to 10%, triggering a circuit breaker as semiconductor stocks led the decline. On the same day bitcoin fell from above $64,000 to below $62,000 and later touched about $59,018 before recovering.

McCluskey identified sell‑offs in semiconductor names and related chip stocks as the initial trigger. Pullbacks in major chip and AI leaders such as Nvidia and Micron coincided with stress moving into U.S. tech equities and then into crypto markets. He pointed to heavy retail margin liquidations and large foreign outflows in Seoul as factors that intensified the move.

Market data showed significant derivative liquidations during the squeeze. Equity pullbacks in Nvidia and Micron aligned with about $700 million in long liquidations, while liquidations across the crypto market reached roughly $1 billion by Thursday morning. Funding rates for bitcoin, however, remained close to neutral during the drop, a detail McCluskey used to argue that leverage had not been aggressively front‑run ahead of the slide.

Institutional flows were mixed. Exchange‑traded fund outflows continued but eased midweek, and some institutional buyers added to positions. McCluskey said funds including Strive and Strategy purchased several hundred bitcoin during the dip. He also noted bitcoin’s proximity to its 200‑week moving average, a technical level that market participants watch for long‑term support.

Options positioning amplified pressure near key price levels. A large concentration of put options struck at $60,000 ahead of the Friday expiry created significant interest at that round number. McCluskey described $60,000 as “the definitive line in the sand” for the expiry: if the strike held, dip buyers would be affirmed; if it broke, selling could accelerate in thin liquidity.

On drivers moving forward, McCluskey said confirmation of robust demand for artificial‑intelligence infrastructure would likely reduce risk‑off pressure from the chip sector and help stabilize risk assets. He added that any disappointment in AI spending or chip demand could keep bitcoin behaving as a proxy for semiconductor turbulence.

Background: bitcoin has shown growing correlation with tech equities over recent years. Traders commonly watch the 200‑week moving average for long‑term support, and large options expiries at round numbers can magnify moves when liquidity is limited.