Bitcoin Slips Below $80,000 as Samsung and Alphabet Sell-Offs and a Hawkish Fed Hit Crypto
A tech rout and a Fed hold with two hike dissents erased Bitcoin's two-day rebound, and $356 million of leveraged bets were liquidated in 24 hours.
Thursday, October 29, 2026/2 min read
Bitcoin lost its two-day rebound in a few hours on Thursday. During the Asian session it slid from above $81,700 to about $79,800, slipping under $80,000 as a tech sell-off and a hawkish Federal Reserve combined, CoinDesk reported.
By 13:12 GMT it had steadied near $80,227, according to FXStreet, still below the 50-day moving average at about $80,800. It follows our report on Bitcoin ETF inflows ahead of the Fed.
Why did Bitcoin fall below $80,000?
Equities set the tone. Alphabet's quarterly results missed on revenue, operating income and Search, and its shares were indicated roughly 10 percent lower in pre-market trading, CoinDesk said. Samsung's chip unit then posted operating profit slightly below estimates and its shares fell more than 5 percent. Crypto has traded as a risk asset all month, so the weakness spread.
The Fed added weight. It held rates at 3.75 to 4 percent on Wednesday with two dissents for a hike, a decision CoinDesk called a hawkish hold. FXStreet cited Chair Kevin Warsh saying officials would act as circumstances require, and put the chance of a December increase at 79.6 percent. Higher real yields tend to cool demand for speculative assets, and that is the channel traders are watching after a week of rate-hike talk.
How big were crypto liquidations?
CoinDesk counted $356 million of futures liquidations over 24 hours, including $205 million of long positions. Bitcoin futures accounted for $94 million and ether futures for $72 million. That is well below the $810 million liquidated over the weekend, which we covered on Monday, so leverage looks lighter than it was before the Fed.
What are Ether and XRP doing?
Ether sat near $2,320 with a relative strength index around 35, on its 200-day exponential moving average at $2,316, and FXStreet warned that a daily close below it could open a deeper drop toward $1,823. XRP traded near $1.292, under the $1.300 support and every key average. Ether spot ETFs lost $21.41 million on Wednesday, their third straight day of outflows, while Bitcoin spot ETFs took in $137.33 million, SoSoValue data in the FXStreet report show.
For Bitcoin, FXStreet lists resistance at the 50-day average near $80,800 and then $85,000. For Ether, resistance sits at $2,360 and $2,400, and the 50-day average is at $2,445. XRP spot funds were muted on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a $3.61 million outflow on Monday. Bitcoin's nearest supports are the 100-day average near $77,900 and the 200-day near $76,400. The question now is whether $80,000 can be reclaimed quickly, and whether ETF buyers keep stepping in on the dips. Bitcoin's relative strength index is 43 with the MACD negative, FXStreet noted, a neutral-to-bearish read. The Dollar Index is above 102.
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