Bitcoin Fluctuated Between $80,000 and $84,000 While 80% of Major Tokens Declined

In October, Bitcoin defied the expectations of both bulls and bears: last week it fell below $80,000, this week it recovered to $84,000, and then rolled back to $81,000. Each rebound looked promising, but each reversal showed how little confidence there was behind it.

In the Token Pulse report for October 17–23, Bitunix found that about 80% of the 300 largest tracked tokens were depreciating. Their median weekly return was -3.98% against a relatively modest decline in Bitcoin of 0.71%. Cardano, NEAR, and SUI lost more than 5%, while STRK from Starknet plummeted by 39.2%. It is harder to sustain a recovery in the crypto market when most cryptocurrencies continue to fall.

Reasons for the reversals

Expectations for US interest rates have changed repeatedly. Comments at the beginning of the week about labor market weakness fueled hopes for a Fed rate cut, and Bitcoin rose as investors anticipated cheaper money. Then stronger economic data cast doubt on a quick policy easing, and Bitcoin went down again, noted Bitunix.

Institutional money behaved just as unpredictably. Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US attracted $526.7 million on October 19 and $524.8 million on October 21, but the next day $635.6 million was withdrawn from them. The net flow difference between the two adjacent sessions amounted to $1.16 billion.

The pressure was not only from the crypto industry: in Bitunix's stock contract review, Intel fell by 10.52%, Micron by 8.05%, and on October 22, Nasdaq lost 2.6% amid investor doubts about the justification for huge AI boom costs. Bitcoin declined along with tech stocks as investors reduced their risk appetite. Oil complicated the picture: Brent rose by 6.8% during the reporting period amid tensions in the Middle East. More expensive energy can keep inflation high, making it harder to justify rate cuts.

Few winners are holding on with difficulty: LIT token from Lighter added 12.19% over seven days thanks to increased activity on the platform and plans to obtain registration for derivatives trading in the US, but fell by more than 11% in the last 24 hours.

What's ahead

The Fed will hold a meeting on October 27–28, and the core PCE inflation report for September will be released on October 29. In August, the annual core PCE inflation was 3.0% – still above the Fed's target of 2%. Slowing inflation or calming signals from the Fed could help Bitcoin test the $84,000–85,000 range again. Persistent inflation, new outflows from ETFs, or another tech stock sell-off could bring the $80,000 mark back into focus.

Repeated recoveries show that buyers are still willing to enter around $80,000, but sharp reversals indicate that they have not yet established control. October's volatility reflects a market where buyers are present at lower prices, but confidence in a sustained rally is lacking.