Bitcoin dips below $80,000 on US Middle East evacuations then steadies

Bitcoin broke below $80,000 on Saturday as weekend selling hit crypto, before buyers pulled it back to about $80,560. CoinDesk reports that the slide followed US evacuations in the Middle East and took bitcoin to its weakest level in more than a month.

This morning we covered bitcoin's slip to $80,700 on ETF outflows. Since then, the market has tested a new low and recovered most of the drop.

Bitcoin

According to CoinGecko data at 23:11 UTC, bitcoin traded at $80,560, up 0.04% over 24 hours and down 0.69% over seven days. The 24-hour range ran from a low of $79,263 to a high of $81,104. Trading volume was about $22.2 billion, and bitcoin's market value stood near $1.62 trillion.

The flat 24-hour change hides a wide swing of more than $1,800 between the low and the high. You can follow the move on the BTC/USD chart.

Ether and the majors

Ether fell 0.67% to $2,343.47 and is down 1.54% on the week. Most large altcoins moved in a narrow band. BNB remains the strongest of the group over seven days, while Cardano is the weakest.

Market breadth and sentiment

CoinGecko puts total crypto market value at $2.714 trillion, down 2.85% over 24 hours. Bitcoin dominance is 59.5% and ether dominance 10.5%.

The Alternative.me Fear & Greed Index reads 51 (Neutral), up one point from 50 on Friday. That is still well below the 68 "Greed" reading of October 22. The index has now spent two days in neutral territory after four straight days of greed.

News drivers

• Geopolitics. CoinDesk tied the weekend drop to US evacuations in the Middle East. Separately, Decrypt reports that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has asked for a blockchain plan in case banks are hit with sanctions. For the wider backdrop, our sister site covered oil's climb to its highest since May on war worries.
• Treasury firms. CoinDesk reports that preferred stock from Strategy and Strive has financed purchases of nearly 136,000 bitcoin. Analysts expect this channel to complement the larger ETF market, though the firms must balance buying with dividend payments.
• Tokenized stocks. Wells Fargo, Cisco and Marvell are among six more companies objecting to OKX-ICE's tokenized stock plan, bringing the total to 22, according to CoinDesk, citing Reuters.
• XRP Ledger. Franklin Templeton added $150 million in fund shares to the XRP Ledger in two subscriptions on Thursday, nearly quadrupling the fund's tokens on the network, CoinDesk reports. XRP was the best 24-hour performer in our table.
• Argentina. A judge dropped the criminal probe into President Milei over the LIBRA memecoin, finding his promotion did not constitute fraud, according to CoinDesk.
• Security. Initia halted its blockchain after an exploit reportedly drained over $2.6 million, Cointelegraph reports.
• US policy. Apex Group CEO Peter Hughes told CoinDesk that the failure of the US Clarity Act will push digital asset businesses toward Asia and the Middle East.

What to watch next

1. Middle East developments. CoinDesk linked the weekend weakness directly to US evacuations in the region.
2. Israel's election. Decrypt notes that Netanyahu's blockchain comments came days before the vote.
3. OKX-ICE objections. The count of companies objecting to tokenized listings under the SEC's innovation exemption has reached 22.
4. Initia. The network remains halted after the reported exploit, according to Cointelegraph.

CryptoClick Desk