Gold, silver and bitcoin tumbled below key psychological levels on Wednesday, with gold falling below $4,000 an ounce for the first time in seven months, silver breaking below $60 an ounce, and bitcoin slipping below $60,000 for the first time since late 2024. The selloff has been widely blamed on a strengthening U.S. dollar and fears of interest-rate hikes later this year under Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, whose first appearance at the Fed's lectern last week signaled a more aggressive approach to taming inflation, according to Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management. Gold has fallen 28% and silver has retreated over 50% from their late-January peaks, when gold surged to roughly $5,600 per ounce and silver climbed past $121, as the ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose 2.8% so far this month, on pace for its largest monthly advance in almost a year. Analysts noted that retail investors have also been rotating out of precious metals and into semiconductor and memory-chip stocks, but stressed that macro tightening remains the primary driver, with the next key level for gold seen at $3,800 per ounce.