Bitcoin falls under $87,000 amid broad crypto selloff, post-holiday metals surge

Metals extended a powerful rally on Friday, with gold, silver, platinum and copper all hitting record highs as investors favored hard assets over bitcoin amid debasement concerns and rising geopolitical risk.

The strength in metals stood in sharp contrast to renewed weakness across crypto markets. In a familiar post-holiday pattern, bitcoin erased modest overnight gains as U.S. trading resumed. After briefly climbing above $89,000 while American markets were closed for Christmas, the cryptocurrency reversed lower at the open, slipping back below $87,000.

While crypto faltered, capital continued to rotate into metals, which have increasingly competed with bitcoin as vehicles for the global debasement trade. The move was further supported by escalating geopolitical tensions, including U.S. strikes on Islamic State targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day and renewed pressure on Venezuela following Washington’s decision to block sanctioned oil tankers.

Platinum and palladium led the advance, each surging more than 10%, while silver and copper climbed about 5%. Gold rose 1.5% to $4,573 an ounce.

U.S. equity markets showed little direction in early trading, with the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all trading near flat.

Bitcoin was down 1.6% over the past 24 hours, with ether posting similar losses. Major altcoins underperformed, led lower by dogecoin, which fell more than 4%, and XRP, down 3%.

Crypto-linked equities also came under pressure. Coinbase (COIN) outperformed peers with a roughly 2% decline after being named one of Clear Street analyst Owen Lau’s top fintech ideas for 2026. Gemini (GEMI) dropped 6%, Bullish (BLSH) slid 3.8% and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) fell 3.5%.

Bitcoin miners were among the session’s biggest laggards, including companies that have pivoted toward AI infrastructure. IREN (IREN), Cipher Mining (CIFR), Terawulf (WULF) and Marathon Digital (MARA) fell more than 5%, while Hut 8 (HUT), which had recently rallied on optimism around its AI plans, led losses with a 7.5% decline.