Bitcoin dips under $80,000 then steadies as traders eye Fed decision

Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 again on Monday before recovering to about $80,255, as traders positioned for a heavy week that includes a Federal Reserve decision. Decrypt reports that analysts blamed a sell-off in AI stocks and ETF outflows for the dip, while Strategy paused its Bitcoin buying for the week.

Bitcoin

According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin traded at $80,255, down 0.27% over 24 hours and 2.24% over seven days. The 24-hour range ran from $79,332 to $80,825. Volume was $26.9 billion.

CoinDesk said Bitcoin was little changed near $80,400 since midnight UTC as oil retreated, with the DeFi index the only CoinDesk index to gain. In the Decrypt report, HashKey's Tim Sun flagged $75,000 as the next key support level. You can follow the price on the BTC/USD chart.

Ether and the majors

Ether underperformed, falling 0.72% on the day to $2,322.91. Most other large coins edged higher over 24 hours but remain lower on the week. BNB is the exception, up 2.23% over seven days. Follow Ether on the ETH/USD chart.

Breadth and sentiment

Total crypto market capitalization stood at $2.704 trillion, down 1.74% over 24 hours, per CoinGecko. Bitcoin dominance was 59.5% and Ether dominance 10.5%.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 50 (Neutral) from 54 on Sunday. It has stayed in neutral territory for four days, after reading 68 (Greed) on October 22.

Main drivers

Treasury firms shift to buybacks. Cointelegraph reports that Strategy made no Bitcoin purchases or sales last week. It spent $205 million buying back its STRC preferred stock, which cut its USD Cash balance by 46% to $242.4 million. Separately, Decrypt says Bitmine added 10,452 ETH to reach 4.95% of supply, but also repurchased 2.04 million of its own shares.

Macro risk. Decrypt reports that the iShares Brazil ETF fell as much as 26% after Lula da Silva beat Flávio Bolsonaro, whom prediction markets had at 80%. The dollar jumped as much as 12% against the real.

Stablecoin and tax policy. According to CoinDesk, the OCC is encouraging community banks to develop stablecoin services as federal licensing requirements approach. CoinDesk also reports that Canada opened a consultation on draft stablecoin rules that keep a ban on yields, and that South Korea is weighing a fourth delay to its crypto gains tax, pushing it to 2029.

Divergent views. Galaxy Research says Bitcoin's bear market ended in June, citing a reclaimed 50-week moving average, according to Decrypt. CoinDesk reports a $68 million options bet targeting a post-midterm breakout to $90,000.

What to watch next

• Fed decision on Wednesday. CoinDesk flags the Fed, ECB and BOJ rate decisions plus Coinbase earnings in its week-ahead preview.
• US tech earnings and inflation data. Cointelegraph notes the fight for $80,000 support comes ahead of both.
• Israel's election on October 27. Decrypt reports Israel's central bank rebuked Netanyahu's plan to use crypto to dodge sanctions ahead of the vote.
• US midterms. Both Decrypt and CoinDesk cite the midterm elections as a factor for Bitcoin positioning.