Michael Burry links bitcoin's slide to 'collateral death spiral' in silver rout

Bitcoin fell below $70,000 for the first time since 2024 on Thursday, extending losses of more than 20 percent so far this year. As of writing it was trading under $68,000, and more than $1 billion in crypto positions had been liquidated in the past 24 hours. Hedge fund manager Michael Burry has suggested turmoil in tokenized silver futures played a role.

Tokenized silver futures became highly volatile amid supply constraints and rising demand, and silver's price had climbed more than 157 percent in 2025 before plunging. Traders' leveraged positions were automatically closed, and bitcoin declined along with silver; silver outpaced bitcoin on the way down.

"It was reported that tokenized silver futures liquidations actually exceeded bitcoin liquidations on one crypto market, called, ironically, Hyperliquid", said Murray. John Blank, chief equity strategist at Zacks Investment Research, warned bitcoin could fall further: "Generally speaking, a bitcoin winter is 12 to 18-months long.