Bitcoin Slides Below $80,000 as Fed Decision, ETF Outflows and AI Selloff Converge

Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Monday, extending a three-week losing streak that has taken the cryptocurrency down roughly 7.4% from its October 5 open to its October 25 close, its longest such slide since May. The selloff was driven by a confluence of pressures: approximately $670 million in leveraged long liquidations, $773.5 million in Bitcoin ETF outflows over two sessions, risk-off sentiment tied to a broad AI-related tech selloff, and elevated oil prices near a six-month high around $114 per barrel for Brent crude. BTC traded as low as $79,200 before partially recovering to hover just above $80,000 by early Monday afternoon, while Ethereum changed hands near $2,321 and XRP around $1.28.

The dominant macro catalyst heading into the week is the Federal Reserve's October 27-28 meeting, where rates are widely expected to hold, though September FOMC minutes showed most officials viewed another year-end hike as potentially appropriate. Markets are also watching U.S. PCE inflation data, a Q3 GDP print, and a heavy slate of technology earnings including Microsoft and Alphabet on Wednesday and Amazon on Thursday. Coinbase reports on Thursday as well, alongside a $10.9 billion Bitcoin options expiry. A BTSE executive anticipated no change at this meeting, while traders are using Wednesday's decision for clues on a December move. BTC fell below its 50-day exponential moving average at $80,787 and its 200-day moving average, leaving nine moving averages in bearish alignment. Analysts have flagged $79,200 and $78,000 as near-term support levels, with HashKey's Tim Sun citing $75,000 and Bitfinex identifying a zone between $77,000 and $77,765 as deeper floors. A recovery above $82,500 would be needed to shift the near-term bias.

Crypto-linked equities absorbed heavier losses than Bitcoin itself, with COIN, MSTR, MARA, RIOT, and CLSK each falling around 5-6% on Monday. Strategy paused its Bitcoin purchases for the first time since mid-September, instead spending $204.9 million repurchasing its STRC preferred stock, leaving the firm with $242.4 million in cash and its holdings steady at 848,517 BTC. The pause drew attention partly because Strategy faces potential exclusion from MSCI indexes. Strive moved in the opposite direction, buying 6,182 Bitcoin worth approximately $511 million to bring its corporate treasury to 43,000 BTC. Franklin Templeton separately announced plans to launch two ETFs holding U.S. equities that automatically reinvest dividends into Bitcoin exposure, starting with a 95% equity and 5% BTC allocation with fees as low as 0.09%. Vanguard disclosed a $7.5 million stake in Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet.