Bitcoin holds near $76,800 as midterm results roll in and fear eases
Bitcoin slipped 0.4% to $76,843 as US midterm results came in and the CFTC cleared stock perps, while Fear & Greed rose to 34 from 26.
Live chart · BTCUSD, ETHUSD, SOLUSDT · TradingView
Bitcoin traded at $76,843 in the latest CoinGecko snapshot, down 0.4% over 24 hours, as early US midterm results came in. Sentiment improved even as prices drifted: the Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 34 from 26, while the CFTC opened the door to stock-based perpetual futures.
Since our last recap, Bitcoin has given back the ground it held near $77,700. Over seven days it is down 4.56%, a stretch that includes the Binance hack sell-off.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin moved between $76,303 and $77,966 over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Its market value stands at about $1,545 billion, with $25.4 billion in 24-hour volume. Cointelegraph reported on Tuesday that Bitcoin was defending its $76,000 lows as analysts saw stocks pricing in "political gridlock" ahead of the vote. BTC/USD chart.
Ether and the majors
Ether was the only large coin besides XRP to gain on the day, edging up 0.16% to $2,262. Solana and Cardano remain the weakest over the week. ETH/USD chart.
| Coin | Price (USD) | 24h % | 7d % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 76,843 | -0.40 | -4.56 |
| Ether | 2,262 | +0.16 | -3.25 |
| BNB | 692.66 | -0.96 | -6.57 |
| XRP | 1.25 | +0.33 | -5.25 |
| Solana | 91.74 | -0.77 | -8.78 |
| Dogecoin | 0.074037 | -0.52 | -5.62 |
| Cardano | 0.186653 | -1.55 | -8.48 |
Breadth and sentiment
Total crypto market value is $2.594 trillion, down 2.66% in 24 hours per CoinGecko. That is a steeper drop than the majors show, so smaller tokens likely weighed on the total. Bitcoin dominance is 59.3% and Ether's share is 10.6%.
The Fear & Greed Index reads 34, still in Fear but up from 26 a day earlier. It sat at a neutral 51 on 28 and 29 October, before the Binance hack pushed it to 30.
What moved the market
US midterms. Cointelegraph's live coverage reports that Democrat Jon Ossoff retained his Georgia Senate seat. Before polls closed, Cointelegraph noted that Kalshi and Polymarket priced a 75% chance of a Democratic sweep. CoinDesk is also tracking results. A 1inch lawyer told Cointelegraph that crypto executives expect regulators to drive policy regardless of the outcome. Our sister site covered the dollar on US midterm day as job openings beat forecasts.
Stock perps. The CFTC cleared equity perpetual futures for trading on US exchanges, according to Cointelegraph. CoinDesk reports that a group backed by Citadel Securities sued the regulator, arguing such products belong with the SEC.
Tether's Bitcoin. CEO Paolo Ardoino said Tether holds "give or take 150,000 Bitcoin," Decrypt reports, about 50,000 more than its Q3 reserve report implies.
Hack fallout. RUNE rallied 15% as THORChain restarted most swaps after a refund bug, per Cointelegraph. Three chains remain paused. Mercado Bitcoin said it will refund users after a $40 million hack, Decrypt reports, but withdrawals stay frozen.
Tokenized stocks. Objections to the OKX-ICE tokenized venue reached 56 companies, including Amazon, Tesla and SpaceX, according to CoinDesk.
On the outlook, 10x's Markus Thielen told Cointelegraph he sees Bitcoin reaching $90,000 by year-end.
What to watch next
- Remaining US midterm results and what they mean for crypto-backed candidates.
- The Citadel-backed legal challenge to the CFTC's stock perps decision.
- THORChain's three paused chains and any Mercado Bitcoin withdrawal restart date.
- The OKX-ICE objection deadline that CoinDesk says is looming.
- Justin Sun's request for court sanctions against World Liberty Financial, reported by Decrypt.
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.