Bitcoin fell back below $66,000 on Friday in the early US session as rising macro risks scare investors away from risky assets.
The biggest crypto has now erased most of Wednesday’s gain, falling 3% from around $68,000 in the past few hours to $65,600 in the morning hours. The Braod market’s CoinDesk 20 index was down 2.3% over the past 24 hours, with ether (ETH), XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL) down by similar amounts.
Crypto-related stocks also followed the move, giving up some of the gains earlier in the week. Strategy ( MSTR ), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, fell 3%, while Coinbase ( COIN ) was more than 2% lower. Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) fell nearly 5%%, sending the stock up nearly 50% over a few sessions.
Miners increasingly tied to building AI infrastructure fared even worse, with IREN ( IREN ), Cipher Mining ( CIFR ), Core Scientific ( CORZ ), and TeraWulf ( WULF ) losing 6%-8%.
The action came as US stock indexes fell, with the Nasdaq down 0.8% and the S&P 500 lower by 0.6%.
In the background, there was a mix of risks for investors to worry about.
A warmer-than-expected producer price index (PPI) inflation reading last month spooked those hoping for a continuation of the cooling inflation trend. In January, core PPI rose 3.6% year over year, above the 3.0% estimate and up from 3.3% previously. Markets are now pricing in a 96% chance of no rate cut for the March 18 Federal Reserve meeting.
Concerns about stress in credit markets also linger, with credit spreads at their widest in four months. Private equity firms KKR ( KKR ), Ares ( ARES ) and Apollo Global Management ( APO ) fell 6%-7% to fresh lows during the session.
On top of that, predictable market odds for US strikes against Iran rose this morning after the US began evacuating embassy staff from Israel.
Money flows to safe havens
In fixed income, the US 10-year Treasury yield has fallen below 4% for the first time since November 2024. Precious metals continue to rise, with gold up 1% to above $5,230 per ounce. ounce, while silver is up 4% to trade back above $92. Meanwhile, crude oil rose 2.3% to over $67 a barrel. barrel.
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