Bitcoin Falls 3% After Rejection at $85,000 as Brent Rises to $116.72
Key Facts
Bitcoin fell about 3% on Thursday, October 22, after an attempt to rise near $85,000 failed and it returned below $82,000, according to a Cointelegraph report. EL7 data showed the cryptocurrency closed at $81,416.09 that day, then at $81,189.43 on October 23 and $80,581.94 on October 24. On Friday morning, it was trading at about $81,970, up 0.3%, and remained within a trading range of $80,000 to $87,000 that had formed over the previous month, according to Investing.com. This puts the daily decline within a broader trading range, with prices remaining near its lower levels. The move coincided with pressure in stock markets and a rise in oil, though this does not establish that the same factors directly caused Bitcoin’s decline.
The decline came despite spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracting more than $1 billion in the three days before the October 22 report, according to Bitcoin.com News. In South Korea, the KOSPI closed down 3.52% on Thursday, according to Cointelegraph. Coverage also identified the $80,000 to $81,500 range as a support zone, citing it as the cost-basis range for U.S. spot Bitcoin funds. Bitcoin closed at $81,189.43 on Friday before ending Saturday’s session at $80,581.94, according to EL7 data. These levels put the price near the cited support zone, while the cryptocurrency remains within the broader monthly trading range identified by Investing.com.
Pressure also extended to U.S. stocks on Friday, October 23: the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Dow Jones 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.2%, according to the Associated Press. The agency said the S&P posted its second consecutive weekly loss after its decline in the final session added to losses the previous day. In Thursday’s session, Tesla shares fell 3.1% after the company reported quarterly earnings stronger than analysts’ expectations, while revenue came in weaker than expected. AP cited investors’ growing focus on the economics of artificial intelligence, particularly the cost of building infrastructure and uncertainty over the timing of returns. Those concerns coincided with a decline in technology stocks, but the sources do not present Tesla’s results as a standalone explanation for Bitcoin’s move.
Oil was the most prominent driver of inflation concerns in AP’s coverage, which said the U.S. war with Iran had reduced global oil supplies and pushed up energy prices, raising the cost of fuel, food and clothing. Brent crude closed at $116.72 a barrel on Friday, up 3.1%, marking its highest level since June 2022. It had been below $97 a barrel at the start of October, according to the agency. In the previous session, Brent rose 4% to $113.17 after touching a five-month high, before retreating from the session peak, according to AP’s report on Thursday. The two-session sequence shows a sharp rise in crude during the month, as energy prices climbed alongside declines in stocks and Bitcoin.
Attention is turning to U.S. inflation data and the Federal Reserve meeting. AP had reported that September inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures index, was expected at 3.7% year over year, compared with the Fed’s 2% target; this is an expected rate, not a published reading. The Bureau of Economic Analysis scheduled its September personal income and outlays report for October 29 at 08:30 a.m. The latest published reading on the bureau’s page for the personal consumption expenditures price index was an annual increase of 3.4% in August. The Fed will hold its two-day meeting on October 27 and 28, with a press conference on October 28, according to its official schedule.