Bitcoin was little changed early Monday as volatility accelerated and crypto-linked equities remained under pressure ahead of the U.S. market open.
Crypto-related U.S. stocks slid in pre-market trading as investors continued to digest President Donald Trump’s Friday nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, a development that fueled a sharp selloff across digital assets over the weekend.
Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin, fell more than 6%, while Galaxy Digital (GLXY) dropped over 7%. Shares of bitcoin mining and AI-adjacent firms also weakened, with IREN (IREN) and Cipher Mining (CIFR) each down roughly 4%. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) was lower by about 4%.
Market volatility continued to climb. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) rose 10% on the day, while the Volmex implied volatility index surged over the past week, jumping from 40 to 50. Higher implied volatility signals that traders are bracing for larger price swings and heightened uncertainty.
Bitcoin was up around 1% on the day, trading near $77,000 after briefly sliding to about $74,500 on Saturday. Pressure extended across other asset classes, with precious metals selling off sharply. Gold fell 4% to roughly $4,700 an ounce, while silver also dropped 4% to $82 an ounce. Oil prices declined as well, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures falling 5% to $62 a barrel.
U.S. equity index futures showed modest improvement, with the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100, down less than 1% in pre-market trading.
The U.S. dollar eased slightly, with the DXY index pulling back to 97. CoinDesk Research recently noted a clear inverse relationship between bitcoin and the dollar, a pattern that appeared to resurface as bitcoin edged higher alongside a softer greenback.
