Crypto Assets Slide as Geopolitical Tensions Rise; Gold and Silver Rally
Bitcoin fell below $87,000 in early U.S. trading after briefly trading above $89,000 earlier in the session, with BTC down about 1.6% over the past 24 hours. Ether slipped about 1.6%, while Dogecoin and XRP also declined, with DOGE down over 4% and XRP down around 3%. Crypto stocks were broadly lower: Coinbase fell about 2%, Gemini dropped roughly 6%, Bullish declined around 3.8%, and Galaxy Digital decreased about 3.5%. Bitcoin miners saw sharp drops, with leading names like IREN, Cipher Mining, Terawulf, and Marathon Digital down 5% or more, and Hut 8 notably fell approximately 7.5%.
At the same time, gold, silver, copper, and platinum all rose to new record highs as investors moved capital amid the debasement trade and escalating geopolitical tensions. Palladium and platinum led the metal rally, each rising more than 10%, while silver and copper climbed about 5%. Gold approached $4,573 per ounce.
Geopolitical tensions cited include U.S. strikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day and sanctions pressure affecting Venezuelan oil tankers. Major U.S. indices, including Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average, were essentially flat in morning trading.
