On January 26, 2026, silver plunged about 12% in under four hours, wiping out an estimated $800 billion in market capitalization and marking one of its steepest short-term declines in recent years. The leveraged unwind and spike in trading volume raised questions over whether some capital could eventually rotate toward crypto assets such as Bitcoin. While the move underscored how fragile momentum trades can be, any potential shift into digital assets still appears dependent on broader liquidity and risk appetite.