Bitcoin nears $83,000 as AI earnings lift tech stocks; ZEC jumps 11%

Bitcoin rose 1.3% to just above $82,700 during Wednesday's Asian morning trading, hovering around $83,000. Strong earnings from SpaceX and Super Micro Computer revived AI-related trading and sent Asian technology and chip stocks higher. ZEC led major cryptocurrencies, jumping 11% to about $1,260 after Zcash developers set the mainnet activation height for NU7, the network's next upgrade.

The activation height is the block number at which every node switches to the new rules. NU7 reduces the time between blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds, allowing payments to confirm three times faster. NU7 also directs 60% of transaction fees into a reserve that pays out over time. NU7 has been running on Zcash's test network since early October.

CoinDesk data showed HYPE and DOGE each gaining more than 3%. CoinDesk data showed XRP rising nearly 3% to $1.33. CoinDesk data showed ether gaining 2% to about $2,450. CoinDesk data showed BNB and SOL gaining between 1% and 2%, while TRX was flat.

South Korea's Kospi jumped 3.7%. Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.4%. SpaceX rose 8% in extended trading. Super Micro Computer jumped 16%. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1%. However, Australia's data-center developer Nextdc fell 40% after Nextdc cut its outlook.

Brent oil rose above $110 a barrel as attacks on ships around the Strait of Hormuz threatened shipments. U.S. industry data pointed to another drop in oil stockpiles. The dollar strengthened slightly. Treasuries reversed some of Tuesday's gains.

Some analysts think bitcoin's decline may be nearing an end. Hashdex said in an email that bitcoin's bear phase had lasted 359 days as of Sept. 30. Hashdex compared that duration with 361, 377 and 411 days for the previous three bear phases since 2011. Short-term holders, the most likely sellers during a price decline, now own just 16% of bitcoin's supply, the lowest share since January 2023.

The Fed meets on Oct. 27 and 28. Bitcoin would need to climb back above $84,000 before the meeting to show readiness for that test.