Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded toward the $84,000 mark on Tuesday as cryptocurrency markets skirted the fresh losses sweeping across South Korean stock, with the largest cryptocurrency charting a divergent path from plummeting Asian technology shares — a notable split for an asset that has often traded in step with risk-sensitive tech equities.

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD up more than 2.5% on the day, reaching $83,944 on the Bitstamp exchange as prices retraced Monday’s drop from a near $81,000.

KOSPI loses 200-day line as semiconductor panic returns

Bitcoin’s gains came as a fresh technology sell-off gathered pace on South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index, the country’s benchmark stock gauge, which extended its losses for the week to 7.4%. The index fell below its 200-day moving average — a long-term trend line closely watched by technical analysts — for the first time since late July.

Semiconductors led the exodus amid persistent investor nerves over the AI trade and competition from China. SK Hynix closed more than 10% lower, while the rout compounded existing problems for Samsung after the company reported lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings last week. The two chipmakers rank among the KOSPI’s largest constituents, giving their swings outsized influence over the broader index. Foreign investors have sold around 173 trillion won ($129 billion) worth of SK Hynix and Samsung shares since the start of 2026, accounting for the vast majority of year-to-date KOSPI sales.

The weakness echoes August’s sell-off, when concerns over the AI boom and associated corporate debt obligations sparked sharp losses that soon spread to global markets — a precedent that is one reason this week’s renewed weakness in Seoul is drawing attention well beyond Korea.

“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, senior equity advisor at UBP, told CNBC on Monday.

Ling was among those who flagged competition from China as increasingly problematic for Korean investors, while acknowledging that the Chinese sector still faced “technology hurdles.”

Bitcoin holds range despite waning ETF demand

In contrast to the August sell-off, Bitcoin avoided a copycat move and pushed toward the upper end of its local trading range between $80,000 and $87,000. Analysis at the time attributed the asset’s relative strength to the prospect of monetary policy easing by central banks.

Attention now turns to major United States inflation data due out later this week ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Oct. 28 rate decision, with markets expecting borrowing costs to stay at their current levels of 2.75-4%.

Bitcoin’s resilience also comes despite declining investor appetite for BTC exposure in October. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — brokerage-listed vehicles that give traditional investors direct BTC exposure, and whose daily flows are widely used as a barometer of mainstream demand — have recorded $451 million in net outflows so far this month, according to data from Farside Investors, including $69 million on Monday alone.

On lower time frames, traders noted that bulls had struggled to hold above $84,000. CoinGlass data showed a thickening band of ask liquidity — effectively a wall of sell orders — building on exchange order books near that level, capping upside during Tuesday’s rebound.

This article was originally published by Cointelegraph.