Bitcoin falls to $85,200 as gold reverses sharp gains and Nasdaq falters on Microsoft weakness

Gold Plunges After Rally, Bitcoin Drops to One-Month Low as Tech Stocks Weigh

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

The sell-off intensified after Microsoft (MSFT) reported slowing cloud growth, sending its shares down more than 11%, one of the company’s worst days since March 2020. The decline dragged the Nasdaq lower by roughly 1.5%, reinforcing risk-off sentiment.

Crypto markets followed suit. Bitcoin BTC $81,527.05 fell from over $88,000 to $85,200, marking its lowest level in more than a month and a 4.5% drop over 24 hours. Altcoins were hit harder: Ethereum ETH $2,544.07, Solana SOL $109.95, DOGE $0.1068, and ADA $0.2983 each lost 5%-6%.

Among crypto equities, Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, dropped 8%, hitting 52-week lows and September 2024 levels. Bullish (BLSH), Twenty One Capital (XXI), Circle (CRCL), and Coinbase (COIN) fell 4%-8%.

Market volatility spiked. The S&P 500 VIX jumped 16% to 19—the second-highest since late November—while the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rebounded to 96.6 from Wednesday’s 95.5 low, adding pressure on risk assets.