Bitcoin BTC plunged to $85,200 on Thursday, January 29, hitting a 2026 low. The digital asset lost nearly $3,000 within hours after trading above $88,000 earlier in the session. Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin dropped 4.5%.
Gold Reverses Hard After Record Run
Gold briefly soared above $5,600 per ounce — a historic level never seen before Sunday night — then collapsed nearly 10% back below $5,200 in minutes during U.S. morning trade. Silver followed, falling from $121 to $108 per ounce. The sharp reversal amplified risk aversion across markets.
Microsoft Slides 11% on Cloud Slowdown
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) sank more than 11%, potentially their worst single-day drop since March 2020. The tech giant reported slowing growth in its cloud business, dragging the Nasdaq down roughly 1.5% and deepening the risk-off tone.
Altcoins Get Hit Harder
Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), DOGE and ADA each lost 5% to 6% over the same period. Altcoins suffered steeper declines than bitcoin as liquidation pressure spread.
Crypto Stocks Routed
Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, dropped 8% to a 52-week low, revisiting September 2024 levels. Bullish (BLSH), Twenty One Capital (XXI), Circle (CRCL) and Coinbase (COIN) all fell between 4% and 8%. The S&P 500 VIX jumped 16% to 19, while the DXY rebounded to 96.6 from 95.5, adding renewed pressure on risk assets.