Bitcoin retreats toward last week’s floor as AI worries hit tech and metals markets tumble.

Bitcoin Slides as Tech Stocks and Precious Metals Drop Sharply

The close connection between cryptocurrencies and the software sector reasserted itself on Wednesday, sending bitcoin (BTC $70,086.22) back toward last week’s lows. After briefly topping $70,000, bitcoin has now retraced most of its gains, trading near $65,000.

Bitcoin fell roughly 2% over 24 hours, while ether (ETH $2,093.00) and solana (SOL $86.67) followed similar downward trends.

The retreat mirrored losses in the Nasdaq, which fell 2% on the day. The software-heavy iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) led the declines with a 3% drop, pushing its year-to-date loss to 21% as investors question high valuations amid rapidly improving AI capabilities.

“Software stocks are struggling again today. IGV is essentially back to last week’s panic lows,” said macro strategist Jim Bianco. “Don’t forget there’s another type of software, ‘programmable money’ — crypto. They are the same thing.”

Gold and silver also saw sharp afternoon declines, with silver plummeting 10.3% to $75.08 per ounce and gold falling 3.1% to $4,938, erasing earlier modest gains.