Bitcoin’s rebound stalls at $77,000 as precious metals catch a fresh bid

Bitcoin slipped back during U.S. trading on Tuesday after failing to sustain a rebound from the weekend’s sharp selloff, while precious metals surged as investors sought safety.

After rallying roughly 7% from panic-driven lows near $74,000 to trade above $79,000, bitcoin reversed lower and was last changing hands around $77,100, down about 2% over the past 24 hours. Ether underperformed, falling 4.7% to roughly $2,260.

The renewed weakness in crypto coincided with a strong recovery in precious metals. Silver jumped nearly 15% on the day, while gold pushed toward $5,000 an ounce following a 6.5% gain.

Risk assets more broadly also came under pressure. U.S. equities, particularly large-cap technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks, moved lower, with Nvidia, Oracle, Broadcom, Micron and Microsoft each down between 3% and 5%. The Nasdaq slid about 1%.

Crypto-linked equities tracked the broader risk-off move. Strategy, the largest publicly traded bitcoin holder, fell more than 2% to fresh lows, while Coinbase and Bullish declined by similar amounts. Galaxy Digital plunged over 12% after posting disappointing fourth-quarter results, and stablecoin issuer Circle slipped another 3.5%.

Some bitcoin miners that have pivoted toward AI infrastructure bucked the trend. TeraWulf surged 12% after announcing the acquisition of two U.S. industrial sites that could more than double its power capacity to 2.8 gigawatts. Cipher Mining added 4% after outlining plans to raise $2 billion in high-yield debt to fund its Black Pearl data center in Texas, which is expected to deliver 300 megawatts under a long-term agreement with Amazon Web Services.

Dead-cat bounce

Options market activity suggests traders are positioning for only a brief rebound from weekend lows below $75,000, according to Jake Ostrovskis, head of OTC at crypto trading firm Wintermute.

Ostrovskis said demand for upside exposure remains limited, similar to conditions seen in April 2025. Heavy buying of near-term downside protection has pushed short-dated implied volatility above longer-dated contracts, creating a backwardated options curve.

He added that a cooling in volatility and a normalization of the curve back into contango would be early signals that a more durable market bottom may be forming