Bitcoin Slides Below $73K as Gold and Silver Flash Crash

Bitcoin’s price fell sharply on on 02nd Feb 2026, briefly dipping to $73,000 and breaking below its yearly opening level near $87,500. The move marked its lowest point since last April and came amid a wave of liquidations and macro-driven selling across global markets.

The sell-off was not limited to digital assets. Gold and silver, both long considered traditional safe havens, experienced extraordinary volatility during the same session. Gold surged to a new all-time high above $5,600 per ounce, only to crash by $400 within minutes. Silver dropped more than 30% intraday before bouncing back just as quickly. The simultaneous collapse of both asset classes sparked fears of a broader liquidity crunch and a temporary failure of typical market correlations.

Bitcoin’s decline was exacerbated by leveraged positioning and ETF outflows, according to trading desks, as panic swept through both traditional and crypto markets. While the drop mirrored gold and silver’s flash crashes, Bitcoin’s rebound has been far more limited. By week’s end, BTC was trading in the mid-$70,000s, with no strong bounce evident.

By contrast, both gold and silver rallied in the following days. Gold reclaimed over 5% in a single session, its largest one-day gain since the 2008 crisis, while silver saw a rebound exceeding 10%. The speed and scale of their recovery suggest the metals’ sell-off was driven by short-term liquidation pressure rather than a structural shift in investor sentiment.

The divergence between Bitcoin and precious metals underscores their differing roles in today’s macro environment. While gold and silver continue to behave as hedges against instability, Bitcoin’s high beta response suggests it remains tightly correlated to broader risk appetite. The episode reinforces Bitcoin’s classification, at least for now, as a risk asset — one with long-term potential, but vulnerable during moments of sudden de-risking.