Gold makes 3rd daily all-time high in a row as Bitcoin crashes below $87,000

The S&P 500 notched another all-time high on Wednesday, rising 0.32% to close at 6,932.05, riding a late-year wave that’s kept sentiment afloat.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 288.75 points, or 0.60%, finishing at a record 48,731.16, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.22% to settle at 23,613.31.

Among the standout movers was Nike, which surged 4.6% after Tim Cook shared he’d bought shares in the company, a rare personal trade that caught Wall Street’s attention. Micron gained 3.8%, and Citigroup surged by 1.8%, both closing at new session highs.

This is a follow-through from Tuesday’s rally, where tech heavyweights like Alphabet, Nvidia, Broadcom, and Amazon had led the charge. The S&P had already logged a record close at 6,909.79, and Wednesday’s climb added to the bullish streak.

But behind the records, the AI trade has started to get trickier. The S&P 500 is up more than 17% this year, and the Nasdaq has gained 22%, driven largely by massive capex spending and blistering earnings growth from the biggest names in tech. Still, the second half of the year brought a huge split.

Investors are now confronting valuation worries, macroeconomic headwinds, and chatter of a brewing AI bubble, all of which have triggered pockets of volatility.

Bitcoin is stuck in neutral, barely moving as the year wraps up, and looking nothing like the asset it’s built its name on.

At press time, the OG crypto has plunged below $87,000, locked in a tight $85,000-$90,000 range, and showing zero appetite for drama while traditional markets ride a wave of holiday optimism.

This dull price action caps off what’s been a brutal end-of-year stretch. The coin’s still licking its wounds from the October crash that wiped out momentum and dragged prices down from record highs.

Since then, it’s lost nearly 30%, putting it on pace for the worst quarter since Q2 2022, the same stretch that saw TerraUSD and Three Arrows Capital collapse.

What’s more, Bitcoin’s narrative crisis is on full display. After spending most of 2025 mimicking equities during risk-on cycles, it has now failed to join the year-end equity rally.

And despite all the “digital gold” talk, it’s been totally left out of the metal mania that’s driven gold and silver to all-time highs. Instead, Bitcoin is down more than 7% this year, neither defensive nor disruptive.

Technically, things aren’t looking much better. The token recently slid below its 365-day moving average near $102,000, a line that had served as critical support all cycle. That breach has traders watching nervously for signs of a deeper breakdown.

And with over $23 billion in Bitcoin options expiring later this week, nobody’s rushing to place big bets.