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Bitcoin 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.
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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 , Solana , and 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.