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Bitcoin slips back to $88,500 as silver tops $100 for first time ever and gold eyes $5,000
Spot bitcoin ETFs booked over $1.6 billion in outflows in four days, underscoring the rapid reversal in investor demand after last week's strong inflows.
Jan 23, 2026, 3:34 p.m.
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What to know:
- In another tough start to the U.S. session, bitcoin pulled back to the $88,500 area.
- The action came as precious metals continued to soar, with silver toppping $100 per ounce for the first time ever.
- Returns during the U.S. day were quite strong during the first two weeks of the year, but they've evaporated over the past week.
Bitcoin on Friday once again started the U.S. session with a sharp move lower, tumbling back to $88,500 even as precious metals continued breakneck rallies, with silver topping $100 per ounce for the first time ever. Gold was just shy of $5,000 per ounce, while platinum soared 5% to a new all-time high. Not a precious metal, but maybe soon to become one at this pace, copper rose 2.5% to just below a record high.
Crypto-related stocks moved lower as well. Coinbase (COIN) was down 2.6%, while Strategy (MSTR) slid 1.2%. Bitcoin miners Riot Platforms (RIOT) and MARA Holdings (MARA) posted 2% declines.
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The decline in crypto also came as U.S. stocks brushed off early losses to turn mostly higher, with the Nasdaq ahead 0.4% despite a 15% post-earnings plunge in Intel (INTC).
The company beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations but disappointed with first-quarter guidance, in part due to AI chip supply constraints. The stock remains higher by 17% year to date.
Bitcoin U.S. returns sink
When bitcoin reached $98,000 last week, the cumulative returns this year during the U.S. trading sessions were as high as 9%, noted CoinDesk senior analyst James Van Straten. Since then, those returns have dropped to just 2%, underscoring weaker demand for BTC from U.S. investors. That coincided with heavy outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, investors withdrawing over $1.6 billion in the last four sessions.
Jasper De Maere, desk strategist at crypto trading firm Wintermute, noted a recent uptick in stablecoin redemptions into fiat, signaling that some institutional players who had re-entered the market earlier this year may now be stepping back.
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- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
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Bitcoin’s weakness versus gold and equities puts quantum computing fears back in focus
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What to know:
- Bitcoin’s recent price stagnation has sparked a renewed debate over quantum-computing risks, with investor Nic Carter arguing that quantum fears are already shaping market behavior.
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