Bitcoin traded largely flat early Monday as volatility increased and crypto-related equities stayed under pressure ahead of the U.S. market open.
Crypto-linked U.S. stocks slid in pre-market trading as investors continued to digest President Donald Trump’s Friday nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, a decision that helped spark a sharp selloff in digital assets over the weekend.
Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly listed corporate holder of bitcoin, dropped more than 6%, while Galaxy Digital (GLXY) fell over 7%. Bitcoin mining and AI-exposed companies also weakened, with IREN (IREN) and Cipher Mining (CIFR) each down around 4%. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) was lower by roughly 4%.
Volatility continued to build across markets. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) climbed about 10% on the day, while the Volmex implied volatility index rose from 40 to 50 over the past week, signaling that traders are bracing for larger price swings and heightened uncertainty.
Bitcoin was up around 1% on the day, trading near $77,000 after briefly dipping to about $74,500 on Saturday. Weakness extended to other asset classes. Gold slid 4% to roughly $4,700 an ounce, silver fell 4% to $82 an ounce, and oil prices also moved lower. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 5% to $62 a barrel.
U.S. equity index futures showed modest signs of stabilization, with the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, down less than 1% in pre-market trading.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar edged lower, with the DXY index pulling back to 97. CoinDesk Research has noted an inverse relationship between bitcoin and the dollar, a pattern that appeared to resurface as bitcoin ticked higher alongside a softer greenback.
