Cooling AI Chip Stocks and Bitcoin Rebound Signal Investor Rotation

In the first half of 2026, AI demand helped the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) more than double and lifted the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) by 60%. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), meanwhile, fell 30%. Memory and semiconductor stocks drew risk capital away from crypto, making a reversal in their performance a potential signal that funds may be rotating back into digital assets.

Since reaching a record high on June 22, DRAM has fallen about 25%, while SMH has dropped 12%. Bitcoin fell below $58,000 on July 1, touching a nearly two-year low, before climbing back above $61,000 on July 3. Selling pressure intensified after Meta Platforms formed Meta Compute and said it planned to sell unused GPU computing capacity. IREN, Cipher Digital and TeraWulf have each fallen at least 20% from their all-time highs.