Precious Metals Crash: Gold Down 8%, Silver Falls Below $85, $7 Trillion Wiped Out
Gold plunged about 8% and silver slipped below $85 on Friday as a sharp sell-off in precious metals erased roughly $7 trillion in market value. The rout hit bullion markets hard, reversing recent gains and prompting renewed attention to safe-haven flows and inflation expectations. The sudden drop was broad-based across bullion, pressuring related exchange-traded products and mining equities. Traders noted increased volatility, higher margin calls, and liquidity strains during the move. Market participants are watching macro drivers — including changes in real yields, US dollar strength, and any shifts in central bank guidance — for signs of sustained trend continuation or a short-covering rebound. For crypto traders, the metal sell-off could temporarily reduce the perceived hedge demand that sometimes lifts Bitcoin and other risk assets during macro stress, while amplifying short-term volatility and correlation shifts between BTC and traditional safe havens.
Bearish
A sharp, broad-based sell-off in gold and silver that wipes out roughly $7 trillion in value signals increased risk aversion and a repricing of macro expectations (real yields, dollar strength, central bank guidance). For crypto markets this is bearish in the near term: reduced demand for traditional safe-haven alternatives can alter capital flows that sometimes support Bitcoin during macro stress, and the episode heightens volatility and margin pressure across correlated markets. Historically, large metal drawdowns coincide with short-term risk-off moves and liquidity-driven selling that can spill into crypto (e.g., March 2020). In the short term expect elevated price swings, potential correlation changes, and thinner liquidity during stress. Over the longer term, if metals stabilize and macro drivers (inflation, rates) reassert bullish narratives for store-of-value assets, crypto could regain upside; but until that clarity emerges, sentiment and flows are likely to remain cautious.