Key Highlights

● Bitcoin fell toward $81,000, its biggest drop since June.

● About $400 million in crypto positions were liquidated.

● Ether slid to about $2,381 as oil and tech weakness weighed.

● Gold hit a two-month low while Treasuries, the yen and Swiss franc rose.

Bitcoin fell toward $81,000 on Thursday, October 22, in its biggest drop since June, according to market reports. It traded around $81,200 to $81,300 late in the day, down roughly $3,100 to $3,400, and briefly dipped below $81,000.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also slid, to about $2,381.

Oil and risk appetite

The drop was attributed to oil prices above $111 a barrel and fading risk appetite. Brent crude climbed to $113.17, its highest since May 4, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and a media report that the US and Israel have plans to renew strikes on Iran after the November 3 midterms.

Higher oil can feed inflation fears, which can make central banks less likely to cut rates, a headwind for speculative assets like crypto. The Federal Reserve raised rates in September and meets October 27–28, with markets pricing about one more hike before year-end.

Caught in the tech selloff

Bitcoin also moved with technology stocks, which had a brutal day. The Nasdaq Composite fell 694 points to 26,008.86, its steepest drop since June 5, after Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) laid out heavy artificial-intelligence spending plans and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) cited supply constraints. The S&P 500 dropped 93.74 points to 7,663.43, its worst day since July.

Crypto has often traded in step with high-growth tech shares, and Thursday was a classic risk-off session. A major bank said its clients pulled a record $14.8 billion from single stocks.

Leverage made the fall sharper. About $400 million in crypto positions were liquidated, according to liquidation-tracking data. Liquidations happen when traders who borrowed to bet on rising prices are forced to sell as prices drop, which can accelerate a slide.

Crypto funds and stocks fall

The selling spread to listed crypto products. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)'s iShares Bitcoin Trust and its iShares Ethereum Trust both fell. Crypto-linked stocks also retreated after gains on Wednesday. Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) fell, and stablecoin issuer Circle traded lower early.

One exception was TRON Inc. (NASDAQ:TRON), which rose against the weak crypto tape with no company-specific announcement reported.

Other havens mixed

Bitcoin is sometimes pitched as digital gold, but on Thursday both fell together. Gold slid to its lowest level in more than two months, and silver dropped $2.70 to $55.01.

Traditional havens fared better. Treasuries rallied, and the 10-year yield closed back below a closely watched threshold for the first time since September 22. The yen and Swiss franc led major currencies higher.

Beneath the headline selloff in stocks, breadth was positive. About two of every three S&P 500 stocks rose, according to market data, as money rotated into consumer staples, health care, utilities and homebuilders.

Fed Week and Big Tech Earnings Test Bitcoin

Crypto traders will watch whether bitcoin holds near $81,000 or slides further. The Fed's decision on Wednesday, October 28, and September PCE inflation on October 29 are key for interest-rate expectations. Big tech earnings from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on October 28 and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) on October 29 could set the tone for risk appetite. Oil remains a wildcard, with developments in Saudi Arabia and Iran able to swing sentiment quickly. Friday's S&P Global PMIs and University of Michigan sentiment survey offer the next macro signals.