Bitcoin falls 1.8% amid tech pressures and Middle East tensions despite fund inflows
Key Facts
Bitcoin fell 1.8% to $81,906.8 at 09:50 GMT on Thursday, October 22, 2026, according to Investing.com, as pressure from technology company earnings coincided with tensions in the Middle East. The cryptocurrency had traded at about $82,700 at 1 p.m. Singapore time, according to a Bloomberg report carried by Moneycontrol, before the later reading reported by Investing.com. Bloomberg linked the decline to investors assessing mixed technology company earnings and escalating regional tensions, as risk assets came under pressure. The decline came despite U.S.-listed spot bitcoin funds attracting net inflows of $1.1 billion since the start of the week through Thursday's report. Those inflows marked a return of funds after net withdrawals of $909.6 million over the previous two weeks, according to the same report. In derivatives markets, options pricing on Deribit showed a continued preference for protection against a decline in bitcoin, alongside the return of money to the funds.
The current wave of pressure follows an earlier 2.7% decline in bitcoin on Wednesday, October 7, when its fall coincided with renewed Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Investing.com. In energy markets, Brent crude futures ended the session on Wednesday, October 21, at $108.82 a barrel, up 0.03%, according to Reuters, on the eve of the cryptocurrency's decline on Thursday. Reuters had reported in mid-October, citing Iranian officials, that Tehran had changed its tactics for targeting ships to keep oil prices high and influence the U.S. midterm elections. The shift included changes to the type and frequency of attacks, according to what the officials told the agency about Iran's strategy in the waterway. One official explained its purpose: "The goal is to thwart efforts by the United States and its allies to lower global oil prices."
On contacts between Washington and Tehran, U.S. President Donald Trump denied holding negotiations with Iran, according to The Times of Israel. His remarks came before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, where he said: "We are not negotiating with Iran." Discussing upcoming developments, he added: "Something will happen, one way or another, fairly soon." Trump linked his comments on timing to what he believed most people thought about when it would happen, saying: "Most people seem to think it will be after the elections." The reference to elections came as Iran's strategy of targeting ships, according to the officials who spoke to Reuters, also sought to influence the U.S. midterm elections.
Against the backdrop of the dispute over navigation in Hormuz, Iran put forward a proposal to reopen the strait, according to a report published by The Associated Press in September. The proposal tied the move to the United States ending its military blockade of Iranian ports, among conditions Tehran presented to the U.S. side. Iran's demands also included the release of frozen assets, alongside the demand concerning the blockade of its ports. Tehran also demanded that Iranian oil sales be exempted from sanctions, making its oil exports part of the conditions of the proposal to reopen the waterway. But Trump rejected the Iranian proposal, according to The Associated Press, in a development that preceded his latest remarks denying negotiations with Tehran.
On U.S. monetary policy, the Federal Open Market Committee begins its next meeting on October 27, according to the Federal Reserve's published schedule. The committee concludes the meeting on October 28, after convening for two days, according to the U.S. central bank's October schedule. The final day's agenda includes a press conference, on the same date the meeting concludes. The Federal Reserve will then publish the minutes of the October meeting on November 18, according to the bank's November schedule. The bank set the release time for the minutes at 2:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern time.