Key Highlights

● A digital-assets research head said negative price action has some way to go.

● Bitcoin fell to roughly $76,700 to $77,600.

● It was a six-week low.

● Ether slid to about $2,237.

A digital-assets research head offered little comfort to crypto investors on Friday, October 30, 2026. "I suspect the negative price action still has some way to go," he said. Finance.

His comment came as Bitcoin fell to roughly $76,700 to $77,600, a six-week low, after trading near $86,000 earlier in October. Ether slid to about $2,237, a two-month low.

What drove the selling

The most immediate trigger was Binance. The world's largest crypto exchange disclosed a breach on Thursday evening and on Friday confirmed that about $6.3 billion had been stolen, according to reports. That would be the largest crypto heist on record. Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Elliptic tied the theft to North Korea, and Binance blamed a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop, according to market data.

Binance moved to contain the damage. About $3 billion has been frozen, and withdrawals are to resume by Sunday. "We are committed to covering all hacked losses through our company funds," co-CEO Richard Teng said.

The rate backdrop

Monetary policy added to the pressure. The Federal Reserve held rates steady this week, but markets are now pricing a December rate hike, according to CME FedWatch. On Friday, three Fed officials said rates need to go higher. St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said: "I judge that additional firming of Monetary Policy will be necessary, and soon."

Higher rates raise the appeal of safer Assets and tend to weigh on speculative ones. A Wealth advisor said after Thursday's Inflation data: "Today's data strengthens the case for another rate increase in December."

Crypto stocks tumble

Crypto-linked shares fell hard. Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) tumbled to what market reports described as a two-year low after a weak quarter and the hack news. Strategy, which holds 848,517 bitcoin, slid with the token. Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) and Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) fell, and bitcoin miners including Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) and MARA Holdings moved lower with no company-specific news.

The broader market was also in retreat. The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points to 7,580.07, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 572.25 points to 51,770.31, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 747.73 points to 25,437.00, its worst day since June 5, as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s cash-burn warning and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s results set off a chip and AI selloff.

Traditional havens offered little shelter. Gold fell $132.50 to $3,898.90, a 52-week low, and silver dropped sharply.

The analyst did not offer a specific price target in the remarks reported on Friday. His comment was a judgment about direction, signaling that, in his view, the forces behind the selloff had not yet run their course.

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, meanwhile, drew attention for telling Elon Musk, according to market data: "Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop."

What to watch

The first milestone is whether Binance reopens withdrawals by Sunday as planned. A smooth restart could ease concern, while delays could reinforce the downside the analyst described.

Investors will also watch the October jobs report on Friday, November 6, which could firm up expectations for a December hike. The midterm elections on Tuesday and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s Earnings on Monday will shape risk appetite across markets, including crypto.