Bitcoin drops below $63K as South Korea stocks trigger risk selloff

Bitcoin slipped below $63,000 as a sharp selloff in South Korean equities hit broader risk sentiment and forced liquidations across crypto markets. The move mattered for traders because leverage turned a broader market retreat into a faster drop for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

South Korea's KOSPI fell 9.99% to 8,203.84, its worst decline since March 4, and trading was halted for 20 minutes. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each dropped more than 12% as foreign investors pulled back from semiconductor stocks. The index had reached a record above 9,100 just a day earlier and is still up almost 95% this year, but its heavy dependence on those two chipmakers left it exposed when sentiment reversed.

The selloff followed comments from Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin, who said regulators moved too quickly in allowing leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung and SK Hynix. Sixteen funds launched in late May with about $3 billion and later grew past $9 billion, with retail investors holding about 92%. Regulators are now weighing stabilization steps.

Bitcoin fell as much as $1,500 in a few hours, touching about $62,000 before trading near $62,300. CoinGlass data showed about $190 million in crypto liquidations in one hour and roughly $714 million over 24 hours. Bitcoin liquidations reached about $215 million, while Ethereum saw about $177 million.