Bitcoin Dips Below $80,000 as $356 Million in Longs Are Liquidated

Bitcoin slipped below 80,000 dollars on Thursday, October 29, and the move forced out leveraged bets across the crypto market. CoinDesk reported 356 million dollars in crypto futures liquidations over 24 hours as bitcoin fell from above 81,700 dollars to around 79,600 to 79,800 dollars in Asian trading, then steadied near 80,000 to 80,100 dollars later in the day.

This was not a crypto only story at the open. CoinDesk tied the drop to a risk off move that started in technology shares: South Korea's Kospi fell, Samsung Electronics dropped about 4 percent despite a record quarterly profit, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell after Alphabet missed earnings expectations. A Morningstar carried Dow Jones report put bitcoin down 1.5 percent at 80,028 dollars on Thursday, with ether down 1.4 percent at 2,324.32 dollars. CoinDesk's broader market account put bitcoin down 1.4 percent, ether down 1.7 percent and its memecoin index down 3.4 percent, with AI linked tokens among the hardest hit.

The Fed hold behind the move

The Federal Reserve held its rate at 3.75 to 4.00 percent on Wednesday in a 10 to 2 vote. The two dissenters wanted a quarter point hike. Chair Kevin Warsh declined to signal what comes in December, and markets price a high chance of a December hike in the Dow Jones account. That mix, a hold with a hawkish edge, gives leveraged crypto positions no relief. September PCE inflation data on Thursday showed a 0.5 percent monthly rise and a 12 month rate of 3.6 percent, up from 3.4 percent, in the same report.

One flow number cut the other way. US spot bitcoin ETFs took in 137 million dollars on Wednesday, a third straight day of inflows, for 423.7 million dollars over the period, according to Farside Investors data cited by CoinDesk. Spot demand held while futures leverage unwound. That split is the cleanest read of the day: long term buyers did not run, and short term borrowers got carried out.

The Friday expiry hanging over the market

A second, dated risk sits right behind the price move. Bitcoin options worth 10.86 billion dollars expire on Deribit on Friday at 08:00 UTC, with ether options worth 783 million dollars also settling, CoinDesk reported. Deribit's chief commercial officer, Jean-David Pequignot, told CoinDesk that the break below 80,000 dollars pushed short dated put pricing to a premium of more than 10 volatility points over calls. In plain terms, traders are paying up for protection against a further fall. Most open call positions sit at strikes from 90,000 to 100,000 dollars, bets on a steep rise that did not arrive and are now out of the money.

Glassnode analysts cited by Dow Jones added a slower pressure. Long term holders own about 4 million bitcoin bought between 85,000 and 118,000 dollars, so more than half of those coins sit above the current price. Holders under water do not have to sell, but their cost base caps how clean any rebound looks.

What happens next

Friday's expiry is the near term test. A settle near 80,000 dollars with put demand still rich would say traders expect the range to hold with a downward tilt. A move back above the week's highs would clear the liquidation overhang fast, because the positions that would have sold into strength are already gone.