Bitcoin Climbs Above $78K as Crypto Defies AI Stock Selloff

Bitcoin climbed on Monday as the broader cryptocurrency market advanced despite sharp losses in technology stocks, rising oil prices and strength in the U.S. dollar.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained as much as 1.9% from midnight UTC to reach $78,280. Ether (ETH) rose 2.1%, while XRP gained 3.3%. Nearly all CoinDesk 100 constituents traded higher, marking the index’s broadest advance in two weeks.

Crypto’s gains contrasted with weakness across traditional markets. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.65%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.7%, gold fell 0.8% and silver lost 1.7%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index strengthened 0.5%.

Technology stocks came under pressure after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for slowing development of the most advanced artificial intelligence models due to safety concerns. Nvidia fell 2.4% in premarket trading, Intel dropped 5.6% and Marvell Technology sank 6.3%. South Korea’s Kospi also declined 3.26%.

Oil provided another source of market uncertainty, with crude prices rising nearly 4% after Saudi Arabia shut a pipeline designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude had already climbed above $100 last week for the first time since May.

Despite Monday’s crypto rally, Bitcoin remains below September’s high of $82,284 following a short squeeze that helped lift BTC from around $64,000 in August.

Derivatives data indicate bullish positioning is gradually increasing rather than being driven by another major squeeze. Aggregate crypto open interest stood at $59.7 billion, while $127.8 million in positions were liquidated over 24 hours.

Bitcoin open interest increased 2.07% to $24.8 billion, while Ether open interest rose 2.97% to $14.8 billion. Positive funding rates and a 1.15 long-to-short account ratio also point toward growing bullish sentiment.

Elsewhere, Filecoin (FIL) saw open interest surge 70% to $126 million as its price jumped 25% over 24 hours. Zcash (ZEC) climbed 7.2% to $1,138, while NEAR gained 4.9% to $2.41 despite the broader selloff in AI-related equities.