Bitcoin Plunges from Top 10 Global Assets Amid Brutal Market Sell-Off

Bitcoin's throne just got rocked—hard. The digital gold standard tumbled out of the top ten most valuable global assets this week, as a vicious market-wide sell-off slashed billions from its market cap. Forget gradual declines; this was a straight-line drop that left traditional finance veterans smirking into their spreadsheets.

The Great Unranking

No gentle fade here. Bitcoin got outright ejected from the elite asset club it fought for years to join. The sell-off didn't just trim its wings—it clipped them entirely, pushing it below legacy giants in oil, tech, and consumer goods. One day you're a trillion-dollar disruptor, the next you're watching from the sidelines.

Anatomy of a Flash Crash

The move highlights crypto's brutal volatility. While traditional markets wobbled, digital assets went into freefall. No single catalyst—just a perfect storm of leveraged positions unwinding, macro fears boiling over, and that old crypto favorite: panic selling feeding on itself. It's the kind of wipeout that turns paper gains into very real losses overnight.

What's Next for the King?

History suggests this isn't Bitcoin's first rodeo—or its last exit from the top ranks. Every prior bear market brought similar headlines, followed by eventual recovery. But each cycle tests conviction, separating true believers from fair-weather fans. The network keeps humming, blocks keep getting mined, but the price narrative takes a serious hit.

Meanwhile, in TradFi land, another banker probably just earned a bonus for 'diversifying' a client away from 'that internet money' right before the drop. Timing, as they say, is everything—especially when you're getting paid either way.

Bitcoin’s price drops amid broader tech-driven sell-off

BITCOIN FALLS OUT OF THE TOP 10 ASSETS BY MARKET-CAP pic.twitter.com/18HAvac9Ob

— 0xMarioNawfal (@RoundtableSpace) January 30, 2026

Bitcoin’s drop on Thursday sent it to its lowest level since November, triggering $1.8 billion in liquidations across crypto markets in just 24 hours. The drop ranks among the largest single-day sell-offs since the October 10 liquidation event, where half a trillion dollars was wiped from crypto markets in just 24 hours. On-chain data showed that most of Thursday’s losses stemmed from long positions.

At the time of publication, bitcoin is trading at around $82,630, down 6% in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has also dropped nearly 7.5% in the past 7 days. 

Ethereum has also plummeted by more than 6.6% over the past 24 hours and is currently trading around $2,730. ETH has also declined nearly 7% in the past week.

“2 of the top 20 crypto assets are up double digits over the past week. Everything else is down.”

–Ryan Rasmussen, Head of Research at Bitwise.

The crypto market drawdown comes alongside heavy losses for precious metals, with gold now trading at 5,085 after dropping by 11% from Wednesday’s $5,600 high. Silver also declined more than 20% from yesterday’s all-time high of $121 and is trading at $96 at the time of writing.

Despite heavy losses in precious metals, gold leads global assets by market capitalization, with a market cap of $35.064 trillion. Silver follows with a market cap of $5.45 trillion. 

Tech companies account for most global assets by market capitalization 

Tech companies accounted for the remaining 10 of the top 10 global assets by market capitalization. Most of those tech companies are actively involved in AI, having aggressively invested heavily in the sector over the past year.

Gartner, a research firm, projected that AI spending could surge 44% YoY to $2.5 trillion in 2026. The firm also believes AI spending could increase by 32% to $3.3 trillion by next year.

Nvidia currently has a market cap of $4.6 trillion, making it the third-largest. Nvidia’s stock is trading at $191.82 at the time of publication, down nearly 0.5% in the last 24 hours. However, the firm’s shares have gained more than 2.4% this week alone, and 2.15% for the month.

Google’s Alphabet follows Nvidia with a market cap of nearly $4.1 trillion. The firm’s stock is currently exchanging hands around $339.4, up about 0.22% for the day. Alphabet’s shares have also gained more than 3.4% this week and approximately 8% for the month.

Apple is the fifth-largest by market capitalization, with a market cap of 3.76 trillion. The firm’s stock is down around 0.28% today but up more than 2.4% over the last 5 days.

Microsoft follows with a market cap of $3.24 trillion. The company’s stock is trading at $436.55, down more than 6.12% for the week.

Amazon currently has a market cap of $2.58 trillion, making it the seventh-largest asset globally by market cap. The company’s stock is currently trading at $242.86, up more than 1.22% for the week.

Meta has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, making it the eighth-largest asset globally by market cap. The firm’s stock is exchanging hands at around $723.81, down nearly 2% for the day. TSMC and Saudi Aramco follow with market caps of $1.76 trillion and $1.66 trillion, respectively.

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