Bitcoin Closes at $79,944.7, Below $80,000, as Fed Divides Over Rates

Key Facts

Bitcoin closed at $79,944.7 on October 29, returning below the $80,000 level, according to EL7 data. The close followed two days above that threshold, at $81,343.5 on October 28 and $80,909.77 on October 27. The move put the daily price below $80,000 after the cryptocurrency closed above that level in the previous two sessions. On October 24, Bitcoin fell to about $79,280 at around 11:20 a.m. Eastern Time before recovering to about $80,138 at 1 p.m., according to The Block. That day’s price action provides context for weekend volatility, but does not on its own establish the reason for the October 29 close.

Spot funds then recorded net outflows of $635.49 million on Thursday and $137.94 million on Friday, according to The Block. Weekly net flows remained positive at $304.73 million after the five sessions were counted. The figures show flows shifting from strong inflows at the start of the week to net outflows in the final two sessions. The weekly total alone does not link fund flows to Bitcoin’s October 29 close.

The price move on October 24 coincided with large liquidations in the cryptocurrency market. Positions worth $436.44 million were liquidated over the four hours through 1 p.m. Eastern Time, including $404.15 million in long positions, according to The Block. Over the 24 hours through that day’s report, liquidations reached $815.26 million, up 218% from the previous day, affecting 201,012 traders. Long-position liquidations also totaled $401.91 million between 8 a.m. and noon, the most for any four-hour period since the night of October 14. These figures reflect the scale of liquidations that day and do not establish that they explain the October 29 close.

In the monetary policy context, the Federal Reserve on October 28 kept its target interest rate range at 3.75% to 4%, in a 10-to-2 vote. Dissenting members Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack voted to raise the range by a quarter percentage point, according to the Fed statement. The statement described economic activity as expanding at a “solid pace” and said inflation remained elevated. It also reaffirmed the committee’s 2% inflation goal. After the decision, Bitcoin rose above $81,000 on Wednesday, reaching $81,245, up 0.7%, in coverage published by Dow Jones Newswires that evening.

The same report said markets were pricing in a roughly 83% chance of a quarter-point rate hike at the December meeting, based on CME Group data at the time of publication. That came amid the October decision to leave rates unchanged, with dissent within the committee in favor of a hike. The Federal Reserve scheduled publication of the minutes of its October 27–28 meeting for November 18. Its next meeting is set for December 8 and 9. The meeting schedule includes a press conference on December 9.