BTC slammed
What's being bought and sold*
TOP TRENDING ASSETS
*Trading activity in the past 24 hours on the Uphold platform, as of 8 a.m. 29th January 2026.
The combined total of buy and sell percentages can exceed 100% due to customers who engage in both buying and selling the same asset within the 24-hour time frame.
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What’s up
Gold, Silver Ablaze
Putting Bitcoin to relative shame, gold surged above $5,500 an ounce, an unprecedented level. Just on Wednesday alone, gold’s notional value rose by roughly $1.6 trillion, or, factoring in above-ground supply, roughly the size of BTC’s entire market capitalization. Very early on Thursday, the yellow metal, helped by a sagging dollar, continued to rally and briefly looked poised to reach $5,600 before sharply pulling back.
Like gold, silver also has sparkled as a star safe haven asset as it keeps on keeping on — printing record highs. It hit $118 yesterday and raced past $120 just earlier today. It was only one week ago that silver topped $100 for the first time.
The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) recently enjoyed its biggest one-day inflow ($171M) ever logged as it has climbed more than 50% so far in January.
Gold (XAU) is up 25% since Jan. 1.
BTC by comparison is slightly down (-4%) on the month.
The largest crypto, said CoinDesk, is “still trading like a high-beta risk asset that needs clean liquidity conditions and a clear catalyst.”
What's down
Biggest Crypto Sells Off
Microsoft's AI monetization story disappointed yesterday and tech stocks at large slid today, taking Bitcoin on a volatile downward ride.
As of noon (EST), the largest digital asset in just a few hours had tumbled from $88K to sub-$85K. BTC's down 6% in 24 hours. ETH, XRP and SOL also tanked to the same degree. Attention turns to Apple’s earnings set for release later today after the bell.
What's next
For Bitcoin, Still Time To Get Dibs On Debasement Spoils
The rise of the so-called “debasement trade” — in which assets shift from perceived-as-eroding fiat currencies like the greenback into things like precious metals and (in theory) Bitcoin — has placed BTC’s safe-haven status under scrutiny.
Why so lackluster, digital gold?
Prior to early October’s $19B liquidation event, shaking crypto to its core, investors were embracing the idea that BTC and gold were simpatico, serving as the primary beneficiaries of fiscal irresponsibility and monetary expansion (Cointelegraph).
Gold has outperformed BTC over a five-year period. It’s a noticeable gap but hardly a blowout. The precious metal rose 185% on a cumulative basis while BTC gained 164%.
Metals might be looking like a crowded trade — a former top JP Morgan strategist warns of a steep silver decline potentially brewing — but debasement theories aren’t dissipating.
Consider how the usual Fed policy parsing games have taken a back seat to the once far-fetched notion of trying to gauge whether the central bank is about to lose its independence.
BTC, which remains connected with a limited supply narrative alongside sheer computational might, could still take part in a shift to hard assets.
Earlier this week, Coinbase released a survey of 75 institutional investors, more than two-thirds of whom considered BTC to be undervalued at a price range of $85K-$95K.
Meanwhile, some prediction markets, per Decrypt, see a 66% chance that BTC’s next move is a climb to $100K.
