Wall Street traders are grappling with sharp swings in precious metals, bitcoin is hovering at its lowest level since April and there are lingering nerves about technology stocks.
It’s been a weird few days on Wall Street. Gold and silver, considered havens amid uncertainty, have experienced enormous volatility. A ferocious rally in precious metals this year halted with a painful drop on Friday.
Meanwhile, bitcoin slumped over the weekend, tumbling from above $83,000 to as low as $74,570 and hitting its lowest level since April. Bitcoin is down sharply from a record high above $126,000 in October. And markets in Asia kicked off February on a down note: South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index sank 5.26% on Monday and had its worst day since April.
The hottest trades on Wall Street across the past year — from precious metals to South Korean tech companies — are experiencing turbulence after enormous gains.
Gold surged to a record high above $5,550 a troy ounce on Wednesday before dropping 11% on Friday. Silver plunged 31%. Gold early Monday dropped as low as $4,423 before paring losses and trading around $4,680 as of the afternoon.
Wall Street in recent years has experienced instances of so-called meme stock mania, where traders rally around a specific company to try and ride a surge in its share price. Some investors say similar themes of exuberance have developed around precious metals as they have become increasingly popular investments.
“More recently, some serious froth and leverage entered this asset class…as its continued rally got the attention of individual investors and momentum-based investors alike,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co, said in a note.
“The recent run up in precious metals feels to have an enormous speculative element,” Jim Reid, global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank, said in a note.
“While a correction had been increasingly anticipated — and was arguably overdue — the speed and depth of the sell-off proved a stark wake-up call,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said in a note.
Hansen said the rally in precious metals and particularly silver — supported by strong demand from Chinese investors — had also been “increasingly driven by FOMO and speculative excess.”
“When gold and silver turn into hot topics at dinner tables and in workplaces, it is often a sign that a particular phase of the rally is nearing exhaustion,” Hansen said.
While precious metals have seen wild swings, bitcoin — once pitched as a form of “digital gold” and considered an alternative store of value — has languished this year amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value is down roughly 10% this year, struggling to gain traction after closing slightly in the red for 2025.
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