Metals Fever Draws Eyes From Crypto
In a week marked by historic milestones for precoius metals, gold and silver have surged to all-time highs, reshaping investor attention and trading behavior across digital asset markets. Gold briefly topped $5,100 an ounce on Monday before settling near $5,043, while silver soared as high as $118 during intraday trading—its largest one-day swing since 2008—before closing at $108. These moves represent a 15% gain for gold over the past month and a staggering 57% jump for silver since the start of the year. The dramatic rallies have coincided with subdued action in major cryptocurrencies, leaving bitcoin and ether range-bound amid declining volumes.
The timing is notable: the U.S. dollar index (DXY) dropped to its weakest level since September, falling more than 1% against the yen to 154.07 on Monday. As metals rallied, many traders shifted focus away from crypto, especially with the Federal Reserve widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting on Wednesday. With traditional safe-haven assets dominating headlines, digital assets have struggled to maintain momentum.
Bitcoin Volume Plunges As Gold Shines
Trading activity in bitcoin has slowed dramatically as metals attract speculative flows. Over the past 24 hours, daily trading volume for bitcoin fell by 25%, dropping to just $35 billion. Ether fared no better: its volume shrank by 21% to $24.6 billion in the same period. This decline in liquidity has left prices stagnant—bitcoin hovered near $88,000 early in the week, modestly lower from late Friday’s $90,000 mark and down about 4% over seven days.
According to coindesk.com, cumulative outflows from spot bitcoin ETFs exceeded $1.3 billion last week, underscoring waning institutional interest even as metals set new records.
Other major cryptocurrencies followed suit: ether traded around $2,300–$2,940 depending on the session; solana (SOL) held near $124.64; XRP at $1.9033; and dogecoin (DOGE) at $0.1223—all posting small declines as traders stayed cautious. Glassnode data shows bitcoin’s spot cumulative volume delta has flipped sharply negative, reflecting persistent sell pressure and risk-off sentiment among participants.
Silver’s Wild Ride Jolts Derivatives Markets
Silver’s surge hasn’t just been confined to spot markets—it has electrified derivatives trading as well.
On Hyperliquid, a popular derivatives exchange catering to crypto-native traders, silver futures contracts (SILVER-USDC) posted nearly $994 million in daily trading volume during Asia hours alone. Open interest for these contracts reached approximately $154.5 million—a level rarely seen for non-digital assets on such platforms. For context, silver futures now trail only bitcoin and ether pairs in terms of volume on Hyperliquid, surpassing established altcoins like solana and XRP.
This influx of activity comes with its own volatility: funding rates for SILVER-USDC remain slightly negative as traders bet both ways on continued price swings following silver’s recent spike above $117 an ounce before retreating. The sheer scale of this movement has revived memories of previous market crises—the bitcoin-to-silver ratio is approaching levels last observed during the FTX collapse in late 2022.
On paper, crypto exchanges are built for digital assets—but this week they’re seeing record volumes driven by old-world commodities instead.
Low Liquidity Squeezes Crypto Traders
As metals capture attention and capital flows out of crypto funds, liquidity conditions have tightened further for digital asset traders. Bitfinex analysts expect bitcoin to remain trapped between $85,000 and $94,500 until a significant catalyst emerges—such as regulatory clarity or a shift in macroeconomic policy. Yet with U.S. lawmakers potentially delaying key legislation like the Clarity Act due to government shutdown risks, uncertainty prevails.
Meanwhile, KuCoin has managed to buck broader trends: it captured a record share of centralized exchange volume in 2025 with over $1.25 trillion traded as its growth outpaced that of the overall crypto market.
For now, most crypto traders remain on the sidelines—waiting for either momentum to return or metals fever to subside.
What You Should Know
- •Gold briefly surpassed $5,100 an ounce on Monday, up 15% over the past 30 days before retreating to $5,043.
- •Silver reached an intraday high of $118, its biggest one-day swing since 2008, and is up 57% year-to-date.
- •Bitcoin daily trading volume dropped 25% to $35 billion in 24 hours, with cumulative ETF outflows exceeding $1.3 billion last week.
Factors to watch closely
The Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Wednesday, where rates are widely expected to be held steady, could trigger immediate moves in both gold and crypto markets if the outcome diverges from expectations; if spot bitcoin ETF outflows, which exceeded $1.3 billion over the past week, persist or accelerate, further downward pressure on BTC prices is likely in the near term.