Bitcoin dips below $80,000 as Korea stock rout and hike fears hit crypto
Bitcoin briefly fell below $80,000 for the first time in a month as a Kospi plunge and Fed hike bets drove nearly $1 billion in crypto liquidations.
Live chart · BTCUSD, ETHUSD, SOLUSDT · TradingView
Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 for the first time in a month as a sell-off in South Korean tech stocks spread into crypto. Lingering fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike after hot US inflation data added to the pressure, and nearly $1 billion in leveraged bets were wiped out.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin traded at $80,555 at 14:09 UTC, according to CoinGecko. That is down 2.1% over 24 hours and 2.57% over seven days. The 24-hour range ran from $79,806 to $82,011. Trading volume was $39.2 billion.
The move extends the slide from our last update, when Bitcoin sat near $81,600. CoinDesk's live coverage says Bitcoin fell below $80,000 for the first time in a month, as jitters across equity markets pushed money into bonds. Cointelegraph reports that the KOSPI fell 7.5% on Thursday to its lowest close since April. CoinDesk put the Kospi drop at 8% and said all but six CoinDesk 100 members declined.
Ether and the majors
Altcoins fell harder than Bitcoin. Ether lost 3.66% on the day and 7.54% on the week. Cardano is down 11.39% over seven days, the weakest of the group.
| Coin | Price (USD) | 24h % | 7d % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ether | 2,355.81 | -3.66 | -7.54 |
| BNB | 717.69 | -2.43 | -5.82 |
| XRP | 1.30 | -3.57 | -7.71 |
| Solana | 102.19 | -2.69 | -9.77 |
| Dogecoin | 0.07878 | -4.66 | -9.35 |
| Cardano | 0.2209 | -3.50 | -11.39 |
Breadth and sentiment
Total crypto market value fell 5.95% in 24 hours to $2.707 trillion, per CoinGecko. Bitcoin dominance stands at 59.4% and Ether dominance at 10.5%.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 53, or "Neutral", from 62 a day earlier. It is the first reading outside "Greed" in the past eight days. The index peaked at 69 on October 12.
What drove the market
- Liquidations. Nearly $1 billion in crypto bets were liquidated, CoinDesk reports. Ether accounted for nearly 60% of forced closures across the two largest coins, falling roughly twice as much as Bitcoin.
- Fed hike odds. According to Decrypt, odds of an October Fed hike have climbed to 29% from 18% a week ago, and analysts see Bitcoin range-bound until the picture clears. Our sister site covers the dollar holding near an 18-month high after the hot CPI report.
- White House exit. Cointelegraph reports that White House Crypto Council chief Patrick Witt has stepped down, the fourth high-profile exit from the group.
- HEX founder arrest. Turkish media report the HEX founder was arrested in Istanbul, according to CoinDesk, which says police reportedly seized $4 million in cash and 64 luxury watches. Cointelegraph says the HEX token fell 30% on the reports.
- Ledger's response. CoinDesk reports Ledger unveiled the Atom, a smartphone-style device with a protected mode for digital assets. Cointelegraph says it costs $849 and is expected to ship in summer 2027.
What to watch next
- Solana's Alpenglow upgrade. Decrypt reports it arrives next week, targeting finality of about 150 milliseconds, down from 12.8 seconds.
- Thailand crypto ETFs. New Bitcoin and Ether ETF rules take effect Friday. CoinShares expects modest initial inflows, per Cointelegraph.
- Starknet vote. STRK holders are voting on whether to explore becoming an independent layer-1 over quantum-security concerns, Cointelegraph reports.
- Australian rules. ASIC has proposed tougher rules for crypto exchanges ahead of a licensing deadline, according to CoinDesk.
- Fed pricing. The October hike odds cited by Decrypt remain the key macro gauge for risk assets.
How we make this article: software gathers the market data and the news from the sources linked in the article, then cross-checks them. AI writes the text. People choose the sources, set the rules and run the process. Not investment advice.