Bitcoin flat near $77,400 as Nasdaq firm weighs $450M sale after hack

Bitcoin traded near $77,356 on Saturday, little changed with a 0.48% dip over 24 hours, as the fallout from the record Binance hack kept spreading. The newest twist: a Nasdaq-listed company said it may sell or borrow against its bitcoin, citing exchange security and quantum computing risks, according to CoinDesk.

Prices are from a CoinGecko snapshot taken at 15:18 UTC on October 31.

Bitcoin holds a narrow range

Bitcoin moved between $76,338 and $77,604 over the past 24 hours. That is a tight band of about $1,270 after the sharp drop earlier in the week. Over seven days, the largest cryptocurrency is down 3.93%. Its 24-hour trading volume stood at $83.5 billion and its market value at about $1.56 trillion. The BTC/USD chart shows price stuck below the $81,000 area it held before the hack.

Ether and the other majors

Most large tokens were flat to slightly lower on the day, while weekly losses remain clear across the board.

BNB, the token most exposed to the Binance story, edged up 0.33% on the day. Cardano remains the weakest of the group over the week.

Market breadth and sentiment

Total crypto market value stood at $2.624 trillion, down 2.4% over 24 hours according to CoinGecko. Bitcoin dominance was 59.2% and Ether's share was 10.4%.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index read 30, in "Fear", for a second straight day. It had sat between 48 and 54, in "Neutral", for the six days before the hack. Sentiment has not recovered, but it has not worsened either.

What moved the market

A listed company weighs selling bitcoin

Next Technology Holding authorized sales or loans against its 5,833 BTC, CoinDesk reports, in a move worth about $450 million. The company cited exchange security and quantum risks. It said none of its coins are held at Binance.

New detail on the Binance heist

Attackers tied to North Korea drained roughly $6.4 billion, according to Decrypt's explainer. CoinDesk and Cointelegraph put the figure at $6.3 billion. The haul includes 18,270 BTC worth about $1.4 billion, CoinDesk reports, more than Tesla holds and over twice El Salvador's reserve.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the theft shows why offshore exchanges should register with the CFTC and adopt US-grade cybersecurity standards, according to Decrypt. Cointelegraph reports the hack has also sparked pre-election political clashes.

Separately, blockchain investigator Chainalysis was hit by a cybersecurity incident that exposed some non-sensitive customer data, including names and email addresses, Cointelegraph reports.

Crypto stocks and wider risk mood

Coinbase led a selloff in crypto-linked stocks on Friday, with Circle and Strategy also falling sharply, per Cointelegraph. Broader markets were also under strain. CoinDesk notes the Nasdaq 100 has slumped about 10% in three weeks on AI worries, including a 4.5% drop on Friday, as OpenAI reportedly cut its fundraising targets. Our sister site covered how AI spending fears hit tech stocks and the dollar.

On a calmer note, Uber tested tokenized money market products with HSBC and Franklin Templeton to access cash for payments, even on weekends, CoinDesk reports.

What to watch next

• Next Technology Holding: whether the company goes ahead with sales or loans against its 5,833 BTC.
• Fund recovery: experts are divided over asset freezes by Tether, Circle and others and warn recovery is another matter, CoinDesk reports.
• US oversight push: any follow-up to the CFTC chair's call for offshore exchanges to register.
• Tech stocks: further swings in the Nasdaq 100 as AI jitters weigh on risk appetite.
• Sentiment: whether Fear & Greed moves off 30 after two days in "Fear".