This time, the global asset "all-decline" was primarily driven by expectations of tightening dollar liquidity. Simply put, the market suddenly realized that "money is about to become more expensive," leading to a panic withdrawal of funds from all assets.

1. The Core Trigger: The Fed's "U-turn"

Initially, the market expected the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and loosen policy, but recent developments have shifted:

• Hawkish Leadership: Rumors suggest that hawkish figure Kevin Woor may succeed as Fed Chair, advocating aggressive balance sheet reduction, causing concerns about a significant tightening of dollar liquidity.

• Rate Cut Failures: Weak employment data (January layoffs hitting a 15-year high) have increased fears of an economic recession, prompting funds to prefer holding cash for safety rather than assets.

2. Technical Breakdown: Leverage Collapse

High leverage acted as the "amplifier" for this crash:

• Margin Increase: CME significantly raised margin requirements for gold and silver futures, forcing high-leverage speculators to liquidate positions, triggering chain reactions of selling.

• Liquidation Spiral: After Bitcoin broke key support levels, approximately 430,000 traders were forced to liquidate, with forced sell orders further pushing prices down, creating a vicious cycle.

3. Asset Attribute Failure: Safe-Haven Logic Broken

In the face of liquidity crises, traditional safe-haven logic failed:

• Gold Fails: Gold usually has an inverse correlation with the dollar, but this time, as the dollar strengthened, gold also declined. Because institutions needed cash, gold became a "liquidatable asset" being sold off.

• Bitcoin "Pseudo-Hedge": The narrative of Bitcoin as "digital gold" was discredited; during liquidity tightening, it was sold alongside tech stocks as a high-risk asset.

4. Market Sentiment: Concerns Over AI Bubble

The decline in tech stocks (US equities) also had specific reasons:

• Excessive AI Spending: Giants like Google announced massive AI capital expenditures, raising concerns about imbalance between input and output, squeezing tech stock valuations and bubble risks.

Summary: This widespread decline isn't just a simple correction but a systemic risk release under the expectation of tightening dollar liquidity. When the market runs out of cash, all assets suffer. Simply put, the market suddenly realized that "money is about to become more expensive," leading to panic withdrawals from all assets.