Bitcoin's relief rally from weekend panic lows near $74,000 proved short-lived. After climbing roughly 7% to above $79,000, the largest cryptocurrency reversed during U.S. morning trade. BTC last changed hands at $77,100, down 2% in 24 hours. Ether fared worse at $2,260, a 4.7% decline.
The selloff unfolded as gold and silver both posted strong gains, staging a real rebound from their own panicky action last Friday. On equity markets, a broad group of AI-linked names led the decline: Nvidia (NVDA), Oracle (ORCL), Broadcom (AVGO) and Micron (MU) fell between 3% and 5%, dragging the Nasdaq down 1%. Microsoft (MSFT) also weakened.
Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded bitcoin holder, hit fresh lows with a loss exceeding 2%. Coinbase (COIN) and Bullish (BLSH) traded down by similar margins. Galaxy Digital (GLXY) plunged more than 12% after disappointing fourth-quarter results. Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) slipped another 3.5%.
In contrast, bitcoin miners pivoting to AI infrastructure rallied. TeraWulf (WULF) jumped 12% after acquiring two industrial sites, which could more than double its power capacity to 2.8 gigawatts. Cipher Mining (CIFR) rose 4% after announcing plans to raise $2 billion in the junk bond market to fund its Black Pearl data center in Texas, which will deliver 300 megawatts under a long-term lease with Amazon Web Services.
Dead-Cat Bounce? Options Signal Caution
Options flows suggest traders are bracing for a short-lived bounce off weekend lows below $75,000, according to Jake Ostrovskis, head of OTC at crypto trading firm Wintermute. The lack of demand for upside exposure mirrors conditions seen in April 2025, he said.
Heavy demand for near-term downside protection has distorted the options curve, pushing short-dated volatility above longer-dated contracts — a setup known as backwardation. Ostrovskis is watching for volatility to cool and the curve to normalize back into contango as a bottom signal. “At that point I'd be more comfortable calling local lows,” he said.