The strong correlation between crypto and the software sector reasserted itself on Wednesday
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.
BitcoinBTC$69,005.21fell 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 etherETH$2,009.21and solanaSOL$87.31roughly tracking.
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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BlackRock's digital assets head: Leverage-driven volatility threatens bitcoin’s narrative
Rampant speculation on crypto derivatives platforms is fueling volatility and risking bitcoin’s image as a stable hedge, says BlackRock’s digital assets chief.
What to know:
- BlackRock digital-assets chief Robert Mitchnick warned that heavy use of leverage in bitcoin derivatives is undermining the cryptocurrency’s appeal as a stable institutional portfolio hedge.Mitchnick said bitcoin’s fundamentals as a scarce, decentralized monetary asset remain strong, but its trading increasingly resembles a "levered NASDAQ," raising the bar for conservative investors to adopt it.He argued that exchange-traded funds like BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF are not the main source of volatility, pointing instead to perpetual futures platforms.