Bitcoin Slides Toward $64,000 as Intel Erases a 15% Pop and Oil Retreats from Six-Week Highs
By Generational Wealth Investments | GenerationalWealth.biz
Wall Street closed out a volatile week with three very different stories colliding at once. Intel gave back nearly all of a blowout earnings pop, oil slid off six-week highs after fresh Middle East strikes, and Bitcoin sank toward the $64,000 level as institutional money rotated out of risk assets. Meanwhile, gold held firm near $4,000 an ounce as traders positioned for next week's Fed decision.
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Good morning — it's Saturday, July 25, 2026, and here's everything you need to know about the week that was, and what's on deck heading into the next one.
Stocks Finish a Choppy Week Mixed
Equities wrapped up the week on uneven footing. The Dow climbed about 0.5% on Friday to near 51,900, lifted by a 3.5% jump in Apple. The S&P 500 barely budged, closing near 7,412, while the Nasdaq slipped roughly 0.6%.
All three major indexes still finished the week lower after the "Magnificent Seven" tech names shed nearly $800 billion in combined value during Thursday's sell-off. Investors are increasingly focused on whether ballooning AI infrastructure spending is starting to outpace the growth those investments are supposed to justify — a tension that's likely to keep weighing on sentiment in the weeks ahead.
Intel's Wild Round Trip: From 15% Pop to 6.5% Slide
The standout individual story of the week belonged to Intel. Shares surged as much as 15% in after-hours trading Thursday following a blowout earnings beat — revenue was up 25% year-over-year, marking the company's fastest growth in 15 years.
By Friday's close, though, Intel had given back nearly all of that gain, falling around 6.5% on the day. The reversal came as investors zeroed in on a capital spending hike to more than $20 billion and lingering questions about the foundry business. The move dragged chip peers down with it, and memory maker SanDisk tumbled about 11%.
The key thing to watch from here: whether Intel's foundry business can land new outside customers. That's the real signal separating a temporary spending scare from a legitimate long-term concern.
Bitcoin Slides Toward $64,000 as ETF Flows Diverge
In crypto, Bitcoin extended its slide, trading near $64,000 — down roughly 2% over the past 24 hours — as elevated Treasury yields continued to pull institutional money out of risk assets.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw about $225 million in net outflows Thursday, breaking a weeklong inflow streak. But spot Ethereum ETFs still pulled in around $26 million in fresh money over the same period, which suggests traders are rotating within crypto rather than exiting the asset class altogether.
The level to watch: a break below the $63,000 support zone would be the clearest signal that this pullback has more room to run.
Gold Holds Firm, Oil Pulls Back From Six-Week Highs
Gold held steady near $4,060 an ounce, with safe-haven demand offsetting a firmer U.S. dollar. It's a reminder that even as risk assets wobble, gold continues to play its traditional role as a hedge.
Oil told a different story. West Texas crude eased about 2% to around $90 a barrel, pulling back from a six-week high. Earlier in the week, new U.S. strikes on Iran and Houthi attacks on Red Sea tankers had pushed Brent crude above $100 a barrel. Energy and transportation stocks are worth watching closely if tanker disruptions in the Red Sea continue — that's the kind of geopolitical risk that can move fast and catch markets off guard.
The Macro Picture: Rate Hike Odds Surge
Perhaps the most important shift of the week happened in the bond market. Two-year Treasury yields hit a 17-month high as markets now price in roughly a 78% chance of a Fed rate hike by September. That's a sharp reversal from earlier expectations of rate cuts, driven largely by oil-fueled inflation fears.
This is the thread that ties the whole week together — from Bitcoin's slide to the tech sell-off to gold's resilience. Rising rate-hike odds change the calculus for every risk asset simultaneously.
What to Watch Next Week
Heading into next week, two forces will likely determine whether this rotation out of risk assets continues:
The Fed's upcoming meeting and any signals on the path for rates
Further escalation — or de-escalation — in the Middle East, which continues to drive both oil prices and broader risk sentiment
Until there's more clarity on both fronts, expect the kind of choppy, headline-driven trading that defined this past week.
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⚠️ Educational Disclaimer: This content is produced by Generational Wealth Investments for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing here constitutes financial or investment advice. Markets and cryptocurrency are highly volatile. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Always conduct your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before making investment decisions.
