Gold Plunge Sends Bitcoin to One-Month Low as Tech Stocks Drag Markets

Gold briefly surged past $5,600 per ounce Thursday morning—its first move above $5,000 since Sunday—before collapsing nearly 10% to under $5,200 in U.S. trading. Silver followed suit, dropping from $121 to $108 per ounce.

The sell-off was intensified by Microsoft (MSFT), whose shares fell over 11% following slower cloud growth, marking one of its worst days since March 2020. The tech giant’s decline dragged the Nasdaq down roughly 1.5%, setting a risk-off tone.

Crypto markets mirrored the move. Bitcoin BTC $81,527.05 tumbled from above $88,000 to $85,200, its lowest level in over a month, down 4.5% in 24 hours. Altcoins fell 5%-6%, with Ethereum ETH $2,544.07, Solana SOL $109.95, DOGE $0.1068, and ADA $0.2983 all losing ground.

Among crypto equities, Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, dropped 8%, hitting 52-week lows. Bullish (BLSH), Twenty One Capital (XXI), Circle (CRCL), and Coinbase (COIN) fell 4%-8%.

Volatility surged, with the S&P 500 VIX climbing 16% to 19—the second-highest since late November—while the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rebounded to 96.6, further pressuring risk assets.