Metals surged to fresh record highs on Friday, pulling capital away from bitcoin as investors leaned into hard assets amid currency debasement concerns and mounting geopolitical tension.

The rally in metals contrasted sharply with renewed weakness in crypto markets. In a now-familiar pattern as U.S. trading resumed after the Christmas holiday, bitcoin quickly surrendered modest overnight gains. After briefly trading above $89,000 while U.S. markets were closed, the cryptocurrency reversed lower at the open, falling back below $87,000.

As crypto prices slipped, metals extended gains that have increasingly positioned them as a rival to bitcoin in the global debasement trade. The move was also supported by rising geopolitical risk, following U.S. strikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day and additional pressure on Venezuela after Washington blocked sanctioned oil tankers.

Platinum and palladium led the advance, each climbing more than 10%, while silver and copper rose roughly 5%. Gold gained 1.5% to $4,573 per ounce.

U.S. equity markets were largely unchanged in early trading, with the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hovering near flat.

Bitcoin was down 1.6% over the past 24 hours, with ether posting similar declines. Losses were broader across the sector, led by dogecoin, down more than 4%, and XRP, which fell 3%.

Crypto-related equities also traded lower. Coinbase (COIN) outperformed peers with a 2% decline after being named one of Clear Street analyst Owen Lau’s top fintech ideas for 2026. Gemini (GEMI) dropped 6%, Bullish (BLSH) fell 3.8% and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) slid 3.5%.

Bitcoin miners were among the hardest hit in early post-holiday trading, including firms that have pivoted toward AI infrastructure. IREN (IREN), Cipher Mining (CIFR), Terawulf (WULF) and Marathon Digital (MARA) were down more than 5%, while Hut 8 (HUT), which had recently rallied on optimism around its AI strategy, led losses with a 7.5% drop.