Fed Chair Warsh's Inflation Comments Send Bitcoin Past $60,700, Solana Up 16% Weekly

Bitcoin climbed above $60,700 on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh stated that inflation risks had eased, giving the crypto market its first significant upward catalyst in weeks. The remarks were made at the European Central Bank's annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, on Wednesday. Warsh reaffirmed the Fed's commitment to returning inflation to 2% but declined to indicate what action the central bank would take at its upcoming meeting, saying policymakers would assess incoming economic data first.

Solana posted the strongest performance among major tokens, rising approximately 4% on the day to trade near $78 and recording a gain of roughly 16% over the past seven days, according to CoinDesk data. The token was the only large digital asset to register a meaningful weekly gain. Ether traded near $1,630, up about 3% on the day. XRP held at approximately $1.06. BNB, dogecoin, and Tron were softer on a weekly basis.

The broader market context added complexity to the crypto rebound. A sharp sell-off in semiconductor shares spread from Japan to South Korea on Thursday. South Korea's Kospi index fell nearly 7% before recovering some losses. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each dropped more than 6%. Japan-listed Kioxia fell 13% after a rally that had lifted the stock more than 650% earlier this year.

Two separate reports amplified concerns about the AI sector's trajectory. Bloomberg reported that Meta is building a cloud business to sell access to surplus AI computing capacity, raising questions about overbuilding. Separately, Apple was reported to be in talks to purchase chips from two Chinese semiconductor manufacturers, a move that analysts said could hurt Korean suppliers.

The AI trade has absorbed significant capital throughout the quarter while bitcoin declined, contributing to what has been a rare back-to-back quarterly loss for bitcoin — only the third time in the asset's history. Capital rotated steadily into chipmakers and AI infrastructure as crypto closed a losing first half of the year. A potential reversal of that trend could ease selling pressure on digital assets.

In commodity markets, Brent crude fell to approximately $70.60 a barrel, its lowest level since late February, before the onset of Middle East hostilities, as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz recovered. Gold rose for a second consecutive day, trading above $4,060 an ounce following Warsh's remarks. The U.S. dollar steadied after two days of gains.

Whether bitcoin can sustain its move above $60,000 will depend in part on whether the weakness in AI and semiconductor stocks deepens into a broader capital rotation toward risk assets or proves to be a short-term correction.