Bitcoin retreats to $88,500 as silver breaks $100 and gold targets $5,000

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $1.6 billion in outflows over the past four sessions, highlighting a sharp reversal in investor demand following last week’s strong inflows.

Bitcoin slid early in Friday’s U.S. trading session, falling back to around $88,500 even as precious metals extended powerful rallies. Silver surged past $100 per ounce for the first time on record, while gold hovered just below $5,000. Platinum jumped 5% to a fresh all-time high, and copper climbed 2.5% to just under its own record, continuing the broader surge across metals.

Crypto-linked equities also traded lower. Coinbase shares fell 2.6%, while Strategy declined 1.2%. Bitcoin miners Riot Platforms and MARA Holdings each dropped around 2%.

The pullback in crypto came even as U.S. equity markets recovered from early losses to trade mostly higher. The Nasdaq was up roughly 0.4% despite Intel’s 15% post-earnings slide. Intel beat fourth-quarter expectations but issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the first quarter, citing AI chip supply constraints. Despite the drop, the stock remains up 17% year to date.

U.S. session returns weaken

According to CoinDesk senior analyst James Van Straten, bitcoin’s cumulative returns during U.S. trading hours peaked near 9% for the year when the asset hit $98,000 last week. Since then, those gains have shrunk to roughly 2%, pointing to waning demand from U.S.-based investors.

The decline has coincided with heavy withdrawals from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, which have seen more than $1.6 billion in outflows over the past four trading sessions.

Jasper De Maere, desk strategist at crypto trading firm Wintermute, noted a recent increase in stablecoin redemptions into fiat currencies, suggesting that some institutional investors who re-entered the market earlier this year may now be pulling back.