Bitcoin tumbles to 2026 low of $85,200 as gold reverses big gains, Microsoft leads Nasdaq lower

Bitcoin BTC$88,336.23 tumbled Thursday to its weakest level since mid-December, shedding nearly $3,000 within hours as gold’s massive rally abruptly turned.

Soaring above $5,600 per ounce at one point Thursday (gold prior to Sunday night had never been above $5,000), gold in the space of a few minutes in morning U.S. trade plunged nearly 10% to back below $5,200.

The price action in silver followed a similar path, with that metal falling from $121 per ounce to $108.

Adding fuel to the selloff was Microsoft (MSFT), whose shares collapsed more than 11% — potentially their worst day since March 2020 — after the company reported slowing growth in its cloud business. The tech giant’s stumble dragged the Nasdaq lower by around 1.5%, deepening the risk-off tone.

Crypto markets followed suit. Trading above $88,000 earlier in the session, bitcoin fell precipitously to $85,200, its lowest level in more than a month. The largest crypto was down 4.5% over the past 24 hours.

Ethereum’s ether ETH$2,961.90, Solana SOL$118.09, DOGE$0.1168 and ADA$0.3348 lost 5%-6% during the same period as altcoins were hit harder in the sell-off.

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Looking at crypto stocks, the largest corporate bitcoin holder, Strategy (MSTR), is down 8% on its worst day since Dec. 12, hitting 52-week lows and trading back to September 2024 levels.

Other names posting big losses include Bullish (BLSH), Twenty One Capital (XXI). Circle (CRCL) and Coinbase (COIN) — all down 4%-8%.

The S&P 500 Volatility Index has jumped more than 16% to 19, its second-highest level since the end of November, while the DXY index has rebounded to 96.6 from a Wednesday low of 95.5, also potentially putting renewed pressure on risk assets.