Bitcoin falls below $80,000 and recovers to $82,500 alongside Seoul chip stocks while silver extends a 12% monthly decline

Bitcoin's price action on Friday resembled that of a volatile technology stock more than that of a monetary asset. It dropped briefly below $80,000 and returned to $82,500 within two hours, CoinDesk reported. The rebound came as chipmakers in Seoul recovered from their worst close since April. Buyers returned to both markets at the same time, for the same reason: a fall in US bond yields that eased the pressure on assets priced on future growth.

The precious metals did not share in the rebound. Silver fell to $57.17 an ounce, down 0.41% on the day and 12.3% over the past month, although it remains about 10% above its level a year ago. Gold traded near $4,155, down about 0.4%, according to Indian market reports of Friday's rates. With the 10-year Treasury yield at 5.085% and US consumer inflation at 3.7%, investors who hold metal give up a positive real return on government bonds. That cost has grown as the market prices a possible Fed hike.

The industry case that bitcoin has matured rests on volatility. Grayscale research cited by Bitcoin Magazine shows that bitcoin's realized volatility now falls within the range of a number of S&P 500 stocks. That supports the claim that bitcoin has become a more ordinary asset. It does not support the claim that bitcoin acts as a hedge, because lower volatility and correlation with chip stocks describe a risk asset, not a monetary metal.

Separately, law enforcement continued acting against crypto fraud. The Brooklyn district attorney's office said it took 112 servers and 241 fake sites offline in an operation against a crypto scam network, which Bitcoin Magazine called one of the largest cyber takedowns by a local prosecutor.