Bitcoin fell on Thursday to its lowest level since mid-October 2024, as shrinking liquidity and a broad selloff in global technology stocks renewed pressure on high-risk assets.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency was down 12.4% at $63,539.4 by 17:28 ET (22:28 GMT).

Bitcoin has declined in seven of the past eight trading sessions, losing about 50% from its record peak near $126,000 reached in October 2025.

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, told Investing.com that the crypto market has moved well beyond a normal cycle and is now in a full bear market, noting that declines of 40–50% or more make that difficult to dispute.

Drivers of the rally have turned into headwinds

Bitcoin’s sharp drop in recent days has coincided with a selloff in technology stocks, as investors rotate into other sectors and assets.

Sosnick said several factors that fueled Bitcoin’s strong rally in 2025 are now working in the opposite direction.

He pointed to strong capital inflows into crypto after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, a supportive stance toward digital assets from President Donald Trump’s administration, and heavy buying by digital asset treasury companies, all of which supported the surge.

He added that during the rally, crypto benefited from the absence of traditional margin constraints. While stocks and ETFs are subject to rules such as Reg T, many crypto brokers and platforms offered very high leverage, allowing investors to amplify gains.

From normal correction to sharp liquidation wave

After Bitcoin hit a record above $126,000 on October 6, cryptocurrencies entered a steep selloff just four days later.

Analysts later described the move as a flash crash tied to margin-related losses among highly leveraged traders.

Sosnick said that once momentum shifted, the same factors that boosted crypto began to weigh on it. High leverage magnifies gains on the way up but also intensifies losses on the way down. Expected crypto regulation has also stalled in Congress, while some equity-market investors have exited as momentum moved elsewhere. He noted that while ETFs made crypto exposure easy to buy, they also made it easy to sell.

He said what began as a normal correction turned into a heavy liquidation phase, similar to what has happened in other previously high-flying assets such as software stocks and precious metals.

Thin liquidity amplifies losses

Reports showed that market liquidity was notably thin, amplifying price swings and triggering a chain of forced liquidations after Bitcoin broke key technical levels.

The move accelerated as leveraged positions, especially in derivatives markets, were liquidated after Bitcoin fell below $75,000 and stop-loss orders were triggered.

According to crypto analytics firm CoinGlass, roughly $770 million in crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours.

Altcoin prices today

Most alternative cryptocurrencies also declined on Thursday.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 11.5% to $1,878.11, while XRP, the third-largest, dropped 21% to $1.19.

Oil prices held steady on Friday as investors awaited the outcome of high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran taking place in Oman, amid fears that a new Middle East conflict could disrupt supplies.

Brent crude futures rose 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $67.62 per barrel by 10:55 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $63.36 per barrel.

Despite that, Brent is heading for a weekly loss of 4.3%, while WTI is on track to finish the week little changed.

Tamas Varga, oil analyst at brokerage PVM, said investors are watching the US–Iran talks and that market sentiment is being shaped by expectations around their outcome.

He added that the market is waiting to see what these negotiations will produce.

The lack of agreement between Iran and the United States on the meeting agenda has kept investors uneasy about geopolitical risks.

Iran wants the discussions limited to nuclear issues, while the United States is pushing to also address Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups in the region.

Any escalation between the two countries could disrupt oil flows, with about one-fifth of global consumption passing through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Iraq export most of their crude through the strait, along with Iran, an OPEC member.

If the US–Iran talks lead to a reduction in regional conflict risk, oil prices could fall further.

Capital Economics analysts said in a note that geopolitical concerns are likely to give way to weak market fundamentals, pointing to recovering oil production in Kazakhstan, which could help push prices toward about $50 per barrel by the end of 2026.

On a weekly basis, prices have been pressured by a broader market selloff and continued expectations of an oil supply surplus, according to analysts.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday cut its official selling price for Arab Light crude to Asia for March to near a five-year low, marking the fourth consecutive monthly price cut.

Varga said the underlying market backdrop is not encouraging, as it points to an oversupplied market.

The US dollar held near two-week highs on Friday, supported by safe-haven demand as investors rushed to trim some high-risk positions following a sharp selloff in stocks, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals, driven by concerns over a surge in AI-related spending this year.

The Japanese yen edged higher, but remained on track for its worst weekly performance against the dollar since October, after giving back most of the strong gains recorded in late January, as traders prepared for the national elections scheduled for Sunday.

Global equities recorded their largest weekly selloff since November, as investors grew concerned about the scale of AI spending, along with the ripple effects of rapid advances in AI tools that could reshape multiple sectors.

Fiona Cincotta, strategist at City Index, said traditional safe havens such as gold, as well as alternatives like Bitcoin, were hit by the rebound move, while classic safe-haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc did not benefit as much as usual.

She added: “The timing of the rebound coincides with the selloff we’re seeing in the technology sector, and it makes sense that safe-haven flows are heading into the US dollar.”

She said the yen is under pressure due to election-related uncertainty this week, leaving currency traders with relatively limited safe-haven choices, which makes the dollar the preferred option.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major peers, slipped 0.1% but remained up 0.7% on a weekly basis and close to its highest level since January 23. The main driver behind this week’s rise was President Donald Trump’s nomination last Friday of Kevin Warsh — who is not seen as a strong supporter of aggressive rate cuts — to lead the Federal Reserve.

Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said investors are suddenly pricing in three shocks at once: tighter scrutiny of big tech spending, AI disruption risks for the software sector beyond the productivity narrative, and liquidity and margin liquidations driven by silver. She said what is happening looks like an unwind of crowded trades, with risk being reduced across asset classes.

Currency traders are awaiting the delayed January US jobs report, due next week. Several indicators released this week suggest the labor market in the world’s largest economy is losing momentum, prompting traders to price in a higher probability of rate cuts in the first half of this year rather than the second.

ING economists said in a note that any significant downward revisions to next week’s jobs data would increase pressure to eventually resume rate cuts.

Yen finds some support ahead of elections

The yen rose to 156.92 per dollar ahead of Sunday’s vote, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is seen as having a chance of winning.

The election has unsettled investors, as fiscal concerns triggered a sharp selloff in both the currency and Japanese government bonds, with any further decline potentially having global spillover effects.

Samara Hammoud, FX strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said a strong victory would reduce near-term constraints on Takaichi’s fiscal goals, including cutting the consumption tax.

She added that it remains unclear how Takaichi plans to finance expansionary fiscal policy, and renewed concerns about Japan’s government debt burden would weigh on both government bonds and the yen.

Major currency moves

The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1791 after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged as expected on Thursday and downplayed the impact of currency volatility on future decisions.

Sterling recovered part of its nearly 1% loss from Thursday’s session, rising 0.3% to $1.3565.

The Bank of England also left interest rates unchanged on Thursday in a closer-than-expected vote, signaling that borrowing costs are likely to fall if the projected slowdown in inflation continues.

Gold prices rose by more than 2.5% in European trading on Friday, resuming gains that paused yesterday and moving closer once again to trading above the $5,000 per ounce level, as safe-haven demand increased amid geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.

The advance is also supported by a weaker US dollar against a basket of global currencies, as investors wait for further evidence on the path of Federal Reserve interest rates this year.

Price overview

Gold prices today: Gold rose by 2.65% to $4,903.08, from the session opening level at $4,778.06, and recorded a low of $4,655.40.

At Thursday’s settlement, gold prices fell by 3.6%, marking the first loss in the past three days, due to continued caution across global metals and commodities markets.

Oman talks

Global markets are closely watching the launch of critical talks between the United States and Iran in Muscat, Oman, amid an atmosphere of escalating tension. The negotiations are being viewed as pivotal after Washington issued an urgent warning calling on its citizens to leave Iranian territory immediately.

This unusual diplomatic escalation has placed the Oman talks in what many see as a last-chance category to defuse a potential military conflict, creating turbulence in global markets that have begun pricing in the risks of a breakdown in diplomacy and its possible impact on energy security and geopolitical stability.

Earlier this week, the US military announced it had shot down an Iranian drone that approached the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in what it described as a hostile manner while it was operating in the Arabian Sea.

US Central Command said the drone approached with hostile trajectory and unclear intent, ignoring repeated warnings and de-escalation measures while the carrier was sailing about 500 miles off the Iranian coast.

In contrast, Iranian state media described the drone flight as a routine and lawful reconnaissance mission in international waters, saying it successfully transmitted images and data before contact was lost.

The US dollar

The dollar index fell by about 0.2% on Friday, pulling back from a two-week high and heading for its first loss in three sessions, reflecting softer performance of the US currency against a basket of major and minor currencies.

Beyond profit-taking, the dollar weakened amid sharp volatility across most global financial markets, as investors await more evidence on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path this year.

US interest rates

According to the CME FedWatch tool, pricing for keeping US interest rates unchanged at the March meeting stands at 77%, while the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is priced at 23%.

To reprice those expectations, investors are closely monitoring upcoming US economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials.

Gold outlook

Market strategist Ilya Spivak said risk appetite appears to be deteriorating, equity prices are falling, and there is clearly a sharp breakdown in Bitcoin prices.

He added that multiple signals point to broadly weak risk sentiment. Under such conditions, gold is holding relatively firm, while silver is retreating under pressure from risk-off behavior toward industrial metals.

Soni Kumari, markets analyst at ANZ Bank, said precious metals saw a sharp drop yesterday and are now rebounding, so nothing fundamentally significant has changed overnight.

She added that the correction in gold and silver prices comes at a timely moment ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, which could encourage higher consumer buying in China. However, near-term volatility may continue until weaker positions are cleared.

SPDR Gold Trust

Gold holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, fell on Thursday by about 4 metric tons, marking the third consecutive daily decline, bringing the total to 1,077.95 metric tons, the lowest level since January 15.