Bitcoin slips to $81,500 as oil spike hits stocks and Ether cools

Bitcoin eased to $81,548 by late Friday, down 0.73% over 24 hours, and Ether gave back part of its earlier jump. CoinDesk's live coverage tied the pressure to a Friday surge in oil prices that hit shaky equity markets and sent the Nasdaq down more than 2%.

Since our afternoon update, bitcoin has slipped from $81,882 and Ether from $2,455. The moves are small, but every major coin in our list is now lower on the day.

Bitcoin holds above $80,000

Bitcoin traded at $81,548 at the time of the CoinGecko snapshot. It is down 0.73% over 24 hours and 0.94% over seven days. The 24-hour range ran from $80,761 to $82,816. Trading volume was $28.4 billion.

CoinDesk reported that bitcoin dipped to $81,000 as stocks slid and the VIX volatility index soared ahead of the Black Monday anniversary. Earlier in the session, Cointelegraph said bitcoin had steadied around $82,000 after Fed Chair Warsh avoided rate-hike hints, South Korean tech stocks recovered and traders lowered their expectations for a Federal Reserve hike.

Chart: BTC/USD on TradingView.

Ether and the majors

Ether fell 0.83% to $2,420.46, within a range of $2,392.90 to $2,488.84. Over seven days it is down 2.45%. XRP and Cardano posted the deepest weekly losses among the majors.

Chart: ETH/USD on TradingView.

Breadth and sentiment

Total crypto market value stood at $2.757 trillion, according to CoinGecko, which shows a 24-hour drop of 3.75%. That is a larger decline than the major coins show individually. Bitcoin dominance was 59.3% and Ether dominance 10.7%.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index read 63 (Greed) on Friday, up from a neutral 53 on Thursday. Over the past eight days it has moved between 53 and 69, and it started that window at 59.

What drove the day

• Strategy and MSCI. Decrypt reports that MSCI's finalized rules will classify "non-operating companies" as ineligible starting Nov. 30, targeting firms whose balance sheets are dominated by a single asset. Separately, Cointelegraph reports Strategy conditionally declared daily dividends on STRC, which kept hovering below its $100 par value.
• Stablecoin expansion. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire told Reuters the USDC issuer plans to enter about 40 new markets, according to CoinDesk.
• Banks. Deutsche Bank is preparing a German crypto custody launch and eyeing Asia, Cointelegraph reports, citing a report.
• Courts. A judge refused the CFTC's bid to drop Gemini's $5 million settlement, Decrypt reports.
• Quantum risk. Nine crypto companies launched a Quantum Alliance amid warnings that 6.4 million bitcoin face a future quantum threat, CoinDesk reports. The firms disagree on timing and on whether vulnerable coins should be frozen.

For the currency side of the day, our sister site covers how the dollar headed for its first weekly loss in five on AI debt worries.

What to watch next

1. Black Monday anniversary. CoinDesk flagged rising stock volatility ahead of it, with the VIX surging.
2. MSCI deadline. The non-operating company rule takes effect Nov. 30, per Decrypt.
3. Ohio Senate race. Cointelegraph reports industry-aligned PACs have spent more than $52 million opposing Sherrod Brown.
4. New prediction markets. CoinDesk says traders will soon be able to bet on whether Coinbase, Robinhood and Marathon hit their targets.