Bitcoin slips below $70,000 as crypto selloff intensifies ahead of the U.S. equity open.

A wave of “extreme fear” is sweeping through crypto and metals markets as U.S. equities show relative resilience ahead of a slate of major earnings reports.

Bitcoin slid below the $70,000 level as selling pressure intensified before the U.S. equity market opened. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to an intraday low near $69,917, according to CoinDesk data, pushing market sentiment deeper into bearish territory. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has dropped to 11 — a level reached only a handful of times historically.

The selloff remains largely concentrated in digital assets and precious metals, even as broader U.S. equity markets hold up. Gold slipped more than 1% to below $4,900 per ounce, while silver plunged over 11% to under $79 per ounce.

By contrast, U.S. equities were modestly higher in pre-market trading. The Invesco QQQ ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, rose about 0.05%, signaling continued resilience in large-cap technology shares.

Bitcoin-linked equities, however, extended their declines. Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin, fell more than 5% and now trades nearly 80% below its November 2024 all-time high, ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings report due later Thursday. Other bitcoin treasury firms, including Strive (ASST) and Nakamoto (NAKA), dropped roughly 6%.

Crypto-related stocks also remained under pressure. Coinbase (COIN) slipped another 2%, while Bullish — the owner of CoinDesk — edged 0.4% lower. Shares of bitcoin-linked AI miners were mixed: IREN (IREN) declined 3% and Cipher Mining (CIFR) fell 2%, following steep losses of around 15% each in the prior session. Larger miners with sizable bitcoin holdings, including Riot Platforms (RIOT), MARA Holdings (MARA), and CleanSpark (CLSK), were each down about 3%.

Some investors see scope for stabilization if historical correlations hold. The iShares Expanded Tech Software ETF (IGV), a sector bitcoin has often tracked closely, was slightly higher. Still, pressure persisted in parts of big tech. Alphabet (GOOG) fell 3% despite beating fourth-quarter profit expectations, after announcing a jump in capital expenditures to $185 billion, up from $175 billion, with projected spending of roughly $119.5 billion.

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