Bitcoin steadies near $81,600 as ETFs bleed $635M and sentiment cools
Bitcoin held near $81,600 as US spot ETFs lost $635 million, ending a three-day inflow streak, while Fear & Greed fell to a neutral 50 from 68.
Live chart · BTCUSD, ETHUSD, BNBUSDT · TradingView
Bitcoin steadied near $81,600 on Friday after Thursday's 3% drop, as calmer stock markets in Asia slowed the selling. The pause came even as US spot Bitcoin ETFs reported $635 million in outflows, ending the three-day inflow streak covered in our last recap.
Bitcoin holds a tight range
Bitcoin traded at $81,623 in the CoinGecko snapshot at 14:13 UTC on October 23. That is down 0.11% over 24 hours and 0.15% over seven days. The 24-hour range was narrow, from $80,989 to $81,939. Volume was $24.4 billion.
Cointelegraph reports that Bitcoin volatility cooled during Friday's Asia session while stocks fought another day of AI fears. CoinDesk's live coverage says South Korea's Kospi was flat overnight and Nasdaq 100 futures were steady, though oil kept climbing. The AI-driven risk-off move also showed up in currencies, where the yen hit a five-week high on haven flows.
Ether and the majors
Ether slipped 0.24% to $2,401.50 and is down 2.09% on the week. BNB stood out with a 1.82% daily gain. Cardano was flat on the day but is the weakest major over seven days.
| Coin | Price (USD) | 24h % | 7d % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ether | 2,401.50 | -0.24 | -2.09 |
| BNB | 746.61 | +1.82 | +2.73 |
| XRP | 1.32 | -0.75 | -1.12 |
| Solana | 104.54 | -0.49 | -0.66 |
| Dogecoin | 0.0799 | +0.45 | -1.73 |
| Cardano | 0.2166 | 0.00 | -4.92 |
Earlier in the morning, CoinDesk noted that the CoinDesk 80 index gained 1.4% since midnight UTC and memecoins rose 2.9%, with pepe up 13%.
Breadth and sentiment
Total crypto market capitalization was $2.766 trillion, down 2.48% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Bitcoin dominance was 59.4% and Ether's share was 10.6%.
Sentiment cooled sharply. The Fear & Greed Index fell to 50 (Neutral) from 68 (Greed) a day earlier. That 18-point drop leaves the index at its lowest reading in the past eight days, after a run from 53 on October 18 to 68 on October 22.
News drivers
ETF flows turn negative again
Cointelegraph reports that US spot Bitcoin ETFs lost $635 million on Thursday. The withdrawals ended a three-day inflow streak and left the funds with $175 million in net outflows for October.
Ethereum upgrade delayed
Decrypt reports that Ethereum developers called off the Glamsterdam fork on the Hoodi testnet. ChainSecurity found gas changes that could let contracts lock in failures, citing 13 real-world cases.
Banks push stablecoins to retail
HSBC is rolling out its first stablecoin to more than 3 million app users, according to CoinDesk. Cointelegraph says the Hong Kong dollar RedCoin wallets go to PayMe users, with plans for tokenized investment subscriptions and institutional uses.
Other headlines
- Andreessen Horowitz is renaming its crypto fund a16z Frontier and widening its scope to AI, autonomous machines and biology, Decrypt reports. The firm says it will keep investing in crypto.
- Bybit received its first full Dubai licence for spot trading from VARA, but must meet further requirements before launch, per Cointelegraph.
What to watch next
- ETF flows: whether Thursday's $635 million outflow extends October's net loss, as tracked by Cointelegraph.
- Glamsterdam: a new timeline for the Hoodi testnet fork after the gas security review, per Decrypt.
- Bybit Dubai launch: the remaining regulatory steps before spot trading can begin.
- US midterms: CoinDesk writes that past bear-market lows followed the midterms, but this year's recovery raises the possibility that the bottom came months earlier.
- Oil and AI stocks: CoinDesk notes oil is still climbing even as the AI rout fades.
CryptoClick Desk
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.