Global financial markets experienced severe turbulence last night (February 5, 2026). Cryptocurrencies, primarily Bitcoin (BTC), as well as traditional assets like gold and silver, were heavily impacted as investors fled risky positions. BTC fell by as much as 12% during the day, dropping below $64,000 and reaching its lowest levels since October 2024. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization eroded by more than $1.2 trillion, gold prices fell by 1%, while silver experienced a sharp drop of 6.6%. This movement is interpreted as part of a broad wave of risk aversion; however, while gold maintained relative stability, the liquidation of leveraged positions in crypto assets deepened the crisis. The decline yesterday was not due to a single trigger; rather, it was accelerated by the intersection of macroeconomic uncertainties, political developments, and market dynamics. Here are the main factors:

1. 👉 Flight from Risky Assets and Tech Sell-Off Effect: Investors, affected by the sell-off in technology stocks, abandoned speculative assets like cryptocurrencies. BTC experienced an 11-13% drop, showing a high correlation with the Nasdaq index. This showed that BTC, touted as "digital gold," failed the stress test; while real gold prices maintained an upward trend during the same period, BTC moved in the opposite direction. According to shared analyses, this flight is due to liquidity withdrawal: "As funding tightened, stop-loss orders were triggered, leverage was forcibly liquidated, and liquid assets were sold first."
2. 👉 Political and Monetary Policy Pressures: US President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to head the Fed created fear of "hawkish" policy in the markets. Warsh's nomination was perceived as a signal that monetary policy would be tightened, increasing expectations of higher interest rates. This hit interest rate-sensitive assets like cryptocurrencies; As highlighted in X, "US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's statement that the government would not support crypto accelerated the sell-off." Similarly, the decline in gold and silver was triggered by the reversal of speculative positions: Gold fell by 9%, silver by double digits, but this was a result of leveraged trading rather than a fundamental decline in demand.
3. 👉Market Internal Dynamics and Liquidation Wave: Large sell-offs were observed on crypto exchanges; for example, the sale of $3.5 billion worth of BTC crashed the price in 20 minutes. $3 billion was withdrawn from ETFs, and miners sold under cost pressure (production cost ~$87,000). In gold and silver, profit-taking and liquidity squeeze were effective after record rallies; silver was hit harder due to weak industrial demand. Renowned investor Michael Burry warned that a drop of more than 10% in BTC could create a "death spiral," highlighting the risks for mining companies and BTC-related firms.
4. 👉Global Impacts and Geopolitical Tensions: The slowdown in US employment data, inflationary pressures, and the strengthening dollar have dampened risk appetite. While geopolitical tensions pushed gold above $5,000, crypto could not fulfill this "safe haven" role. The decline in Asian markets also spread; for example, tech losses on Wall Street dragged down Asian indices.