Bitcoin Falls 4% to $81,448 as AI Stock Selloff Deepens

Key Facts

Bitcoin fell 4% to $81,448 by 17:39 Eastern time on Thursday, October 22, 2026, after approaching $85,000 during overnight trading, according to Investing.com. The decline came amid a deep selloff in AI stocks and continued gains in oil prices. The platform said the cryptocurrency had largely surrendered its brief overnight rebound as appetite for riskier assets waned. That quickly reversed the previous day’s gains, when Bitcoin rose 2.2% to $84,792.2 at 17:38 Eastern time. EL7 data showed closes of $81,416.09 on October 22, $81,189.43 on October 23 and $80,888.16 on October 24.

The pressure extended to U.S. stock indexes in Thursday’s session, with the S&P 500 losing 1.2%, its worst daily performance since July, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6%, according to the Associated Press. The following day, the S&P 500 declined 0.5%, the Dow Jones fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq lost 0.2%. The broader index posted its second consecutive weekly loss. Stock losses thus continued over two sessions as Bitcoin reversed its overnight gains. Investing.com said the AI stock selloff and higher oil prices weighed on risk-linked assets.

In energy markets, Brent crude rose 3.1% to settle at $116.72 a barrel on Friday, October 23, its highest level since June 2022, according to the Associated Press. The price was below $97 a barrel at the start of October, highlighting the speed of its rise during the month. The agency attributed higher energy prices to the U.S. war with Iran, which it said had sharply reduced global oil supplies. It added that rising energy prices had pushed up the cost of goods. The increase put oil at the center of inflation concerns accompanying the selloff in stocks and cryptocurrencies.

AI economics were another focus of investor concern, with attention on the cost of building infrastructure and uncertainty over when returns would materialize, according to an Edward Jones strategist quoted by the Associated Press. The strategist said investors were focused on "the large upfront costs required to build AI infrastructure, and uncertainty about the timing of returns on those investments." Tesla’s spending plans offer an example of the scale of capital commitments in the sector: the company expects capital expenditure to exceed $20 billion in 2026. The company said the spending is tied to AI initiatives, investment in computing infrastructure and data centers, expanded manufacturing, and research and development. In the third quarter of 2026, net income attributable to common stockholders was $787 million, down 43% year over year.

This comes as U.S. inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s target: the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 3.4% year over year in August, while the increase was 3.0% excluding food and energy, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet on October 27 and 28. After the meeting, the bureau will release its September personal income and outlays report and the advance estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product on October 29 at 8:30 a.m. Markets are also awaiting results from Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon the following week, according to the Associated Press. Those results could help investors assess returns on AI investments, while inflation and growth data and the Fed’s stance remain among the week’s key events.