The S&P 500 closed down 1.57% dropping 108.71 points to 6,832.76, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.34% (669.42 points to 49,451.98) and the Nasdaq Composite sliding 2.03% (469.32 points to 22,597.15).
This move contributed to over $1 trillion in market capitalization being wiped out from equities in the session or broader recent selloff context, driven primarily by renewed fears over AI disruption. Investors rotated out of tech and software stocks amid concerns that advancing AI technologies from startups like Anthropic could cannibalize revenues of established players in software, services, and related sectors.
This has been described as a continuation of an “AI angst” or “SaaSpocalypse” theme that intensified earlier in February, with prior days already erasing massive value from Big Tech and software nearly $1 trillion from software stocks in earlier sessions.
The selloff was broad but tech-heavy, with notable drops in companies like Cisco (-12.3%), AppLovin (-19.7%), and others tied to AI capex or competitive threats. Broader factors included digestion of strong recent U.S. jobs data which reduced Fed rate cut expectations and anticipation of the January CPI inflation report released on February 13.
Gold and silver also fell sharply in tandem, despite their typical safe-haven status. This appears linked to the same dynamics: a stronger U.S. dollar from delayed rate cut bets, reduced safe-haven demand amid the equity rout, and a “liquidity flush” triggering leveraged position unwinds.
Silver plunged dramatically up to ~10% intraday on February 12, dropping below $76/oz from highs near $85, while gold fell over 2-3% below $5,000/oz from recent peaks above $5,100, settling around $4,955-$4,966.
Industrial metals like platinum and copper saw similar pressure. Markets were choppy heading into February 13 premarket (futures slightly down ~0.2-0.3%), with focus on the CPI data for further direction — economists expected cooling to ~2.5% y/y. This reflects ongoing volatility in early 2026, where AI “prove-it” skepticism, high valuations, and macro shifts have led to repeated sharp pullbacks after a strong late-2025 run.
The sharp equity selloff with the S&P 500 down over 1.5% and more than $1T in market cap erased — has spilled over into Bitcoin, which has shown high correlation with risk assets like tech stocks during this period rather than acting as a decoupled “digital gold.”
Bitcoin is currently trading around $69,000. It opened near $66,200-$66,300, hit highs around $67,100-$67,350, and lows dipping to $65,800-$65,900, reflecting a roughly 1-2% decline in the last 24 hours, continuing a multi-week downtrend.
This follows a close around $66,200-$66,900 yesterday, with intraday pressure aligning closely with the broader risk-off move in equities.Key impacts and context: Unlike traditional safe havens like gold, which fell but has shown periods of outperformance.
Bitcoin has behaved more like a growth/tech asset in this environment. It dropped sharply alongside Nasdaq/tech weakness amid AI disruption fears, delayed Fed rate cut expectations from strong jobs data, and macro uncertainty.
Correlations with equities remain elevated, while Bitcoin-gold correlation has weakened toward zero in recent months. BTC peaked above $126,000 in late 2025 but has shed nearly 48-50% since, entering a prolonged consolidation/correction phase. It’s on track for a fourth straight weekly decline, with sentiment indicators flirting with extreme fear levels.
On-chain signals show some long-term holder capitulation like realized profit/loss ratios dipping, miner deleveraging, and U.S. institutional outflows via Spot ETFs and Coinbase premium gaps staying negative for weeks.
The selloff isn’t isolated; altcoins and sentiment have weakened in tandem, with analysts like those at Standard Chartered warning of potential “final capitulation” toward lower levels before recovery. However, long-term views remain constructive — JPMorgan’s adjusted models point to $170,000-$266,000 targets based on reduced leverage and volatility dynamics.
Focus shifts (February 13) January CPI inflation report, which could influence Fed expectations and risk appetite. If equities stabilize or rebound, BTC could test resistance near $68,000-$70,000. A break below $65,000 might accelerate downside toward recent lows around $60,000-$61,000.
Institutional accumulation provides some underlying support, but short-term volatility remains high amid thin liquidity and forced unwinds. This reflects a classic risk-off rotation where Bitcoin has not decoupled as hoped, amplifying the equity wipeout’s effects rather than buffering them. The “prove-it” phase for crypto as a mature asset class continues amid these macro headwinds.
