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Bitcoin tumbles back near last week's lows as AI fears crush tech and precious metals plunge
The strong correlation between crypto and the software sector reasserted itself on Wednesday
Updated Feb 12, 2026, 9:43 p.m. Published Feb 12, 2026, 8:54 p.m.
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What to know:
- Bitcoin has mostly erased its bounce from last week's crypto crash, returning to the $65,000 area.
- The sell-off in digital assets tracked a broader pullback in the tech sector, particularly in the software names with which bitcoin has been so strongly correlated.
- Gold and silver each suffered quick afternoon plunges, with silver moving from a modest gain for the day to a 10% decline.
Bitcoin fell back toward last week's lows, giving up nearly all of its recent gains above $70,000 and resuming its slide alongside weakness in the broader tech sector, as the crypto now trades back around $65,000.
Bitcoin was down 2% over the past 24 hours, with losses in ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) roughly tracking.
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The decline mirrored broad price action in the Nasdaq, which fell 2% on Wednesday and more particularly in the software sector, where the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) tumbled 3%. The IGV is now down 21% year to date as investors question the sector's pricey multiples in a world where the coding abilities of artificial intelligence agents appear to be rising exponentially.
"Software stocks are struggling again today," wrote macro strategist Jim Bianco. "IGV is essentially back to last week's panic lows."
"Don't forget there's another type of software, 'programmable money,' crypto," Bianco added. "They are the same thing."
Precious metals not immune
Cruising along with modest gains through most of the day, gold and silver suffered quick, steep plunges in the mid-afternoon. Late in the session, silver was lower by 10.3% to $75.08 per ounce and gold was down 3.1% to $4,938.
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Abu Dhabi wealth funds bitcoin ETF holdings topped $1 billion at end of 2025
Both Mubadala Investment Company and Al Warda Investments lifted investments in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in the fourth quarter.
What to know:
- Two major Abu Dhabi investment firms, Mubadala Investment Company and Al Warda Investments, increased their holdings of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the fourth quarter of 2025 as bitcoin’s price fell.
- Mubadala lifted its IBIT stake to 12.7 million shares and Al Warda to 8.2 million shares.
- Together, they held a combined position that exceeded $1 billion at the end of 2025 but has since declined to just over $800 million amid further bitcoin losses in 2026.
