A sense of “extreme fear” continues to grip crypto and metals markets, even as U.S. equities show relative stability ahead of a heavy slate of earnings reports.
Bitcoin dropped below the $70,000 level as selling pressure intensified before the U.S. stock market opened. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to an intraday low near $69,917, according to CoinDesk data, pushing market sentiment deeper into bearish territory. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has slid to 11, a level seen only a handful of times historically.
The selloff has remained largely concentrated in digital assets and precious metals. Gold slipped more than 1% to below $4,900 per ounce, while silver plunged over 11%, falling to under $79 per ounce.
U.S. equities, by contrast, were modestly higher in pre-market trading. The Invesco QQQ ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, was up about 0.05%, signaling continued resilience among large-cap technology stocks.
Bitcoin-linked equities extended their declines. Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin, fell more than 5% and now trades nearly 80% below its November 2024 all-time high, ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings report later Thursday. Other bitcoin treasury companies, including Strive (ASST) and Nakamoto (NAKA), dropped roughly 6%.
Crypto-related stocks also remained under pressure. Coinbase (COIN) slipped another 2%, while Bullish, the owner of CoinDesk, declined about 0.4%. Bitcoin-focused AI miners were mixed: IREN (IREN) fell 3% and Cipher Mining (CIFR) dropped 2%, following steep losses of around 15% in the previous session. Larger miners with significant bitcoin holdings, including Riot Platforms (RIOT), MARA Holdings (MARA), and CleanSpark (CLSK), were each down roughly 3%.
Some investors see scope for stabilization if historical correlations hold. The iShares Expanded Tech Software ETF (IGV), a sector bitcoin has often tracked closely, edged slightly higher. Meanwhile, Alphabet (GOOG) fell 3% despite beating fourth-quarter profit expectations, after announcing an increase in capital expenditures to $185 billion from $175 billion, with projected spending of about $119.5 billion.
