Crypto is “red” again on October 26, with Bitcoin hovering near $80,000 and Ethereum struggling around $2,300.
Bitcoin traded near $80,340 during Monday’s session after briefly falling below $80,000, while Ethereum sat around $2,327. The weakness is not coming from one isolated crypto headline. Leverage, ETF outflows, Fed caution and a softer risk backdrop are all hitting the market at the same time.
What you'll learn 👉
Bitcoin Liquidations Turn a Small Drop Into a Bigger Move
One of the clearest drivers is leverage.
Bitcoin liquidations jumped about 186% over 24 hours to roughly $52.27 million, with long liquidations accounting for around $33.79 million.
At the same time, total open interest rose 13.2%.
That combination tells us traders had built a large amount of leveraged exposure before the move lower.
Once Bitcoin started slipping, some of those long positions were automatically closed. Those forced sales pushed price down further, which then triggered more liquidations.
The cycle is straightforward:
Bitcoin falls → leveraged longs get liquidated → forced selling increases → Bitcoin falls again.
This is why a relatively modest initial move can turn into a much uglier intraday selloff.
The Fed Is Keeping Traders Defensive
The Federal Reserve meets on October 27-28, and markets are still treating the event as a major risk point.
The base case is that rates stay unchanged this week, but traders are focused on what the Fed says about December and inflation. High oil prices and sticky inflation have kept another rate increase on the table.
That is not a comfortable setup for crypto.
Bitcoin and Ethereum generally perform better when liquidity conditions improve. If the Fed keeps policy restrictive, the market has less reason to aggressively bid risk assets.
The Fear & Greed Index near 43 also fits that picture. Sentiment is not in full panic, but investors are clearly hesitant ahead of Wednesday’s decision.
Ethereum Is Adding More Pressure
Ethereum has also lost important ground.
ETH dropped below the $2,400 area and has traded near $2,300, with ETF demand failing to offer much support.
U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs lost about $225 million during the latest volatile stretch, and Bitcoin funds also saw heavy withdrawals late in the week. One October 22 session alone produced roughly $635.6 million of net Bitcoin ETF outflows.
Bitcoin ETFs still finished the full week with around $301 million of net inflows, so institutional demand has not disappeared completely. But the late-week reversal shows that investors are willing to reduce exposure quickly when macro risk rises.
Stocks Are Not Helping Crypto Either
Crypto is also trading in a weak risk environment.
Technology and AI-related stocks have been under pressure in recent sessions as investors question valuations, debt-funded AI spending and future returns.
That is relevant because Bitcoin and Ethereum have repeatedly traded alongside high-beta risk assets during periods of market stress.
When investors cut exposure to technology stocks, crypto often gets caught in the same move.
This does not mean stocks are directly causing Bitcoin to fall.
It means both markets are reacting to the same conditions: high rates, expensive energy, uncertainty around the Fed and weaker appetite for speculative assets.
Read also: US Bitcoin Treasury Company Strive Buys 6,182 BTC
Why the Crypto Market Is Down Today
The current selloff comes from several pressures hitting together:
- Bitcoin long liquidations are creating forced selling
- Open interest remains high, leaving more leverage that can be unwound
- Traders are reducing risk before the October 28 Fed decision
- Ethereum has broken below $2,400
- Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF flows weakened late last week
- Technology stocks remain under pressure
- Oil and inflation continue to limit hopes for easier monetary policy
For Bitcoin, the $79,000-$80,000 area is now the first zone I would watch.
If BTC keeps holding it, the market could stabilize before the Fed.
If $79,000 fails, another liquidation wave could bring the recent lows back into play.
For now, this looks less like one catastrophic crypto event and more like a leveraged market running into a bad macro environment at exactly the wrong time.
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