Bitcoin fell as low as $80,789.61 on Thursday, October 22, according to exchange data via TradingView. That was 4.7% below the high of about $BTC 84,800 it reached the day before. The drop came as renewed doubts over AI spending sent the Nasdaq Composite down 2.6%, its worst day since June, and the S&P 500 down 1.2%. Bitcoin stabilized near $BTC
81,700 on Friday.
Crypto Trades Like Tech
Analysts said the move was driven by tech stocks rather than anything specific to crypto. Mixed results from Tesla and Meta revived questions about the payoff from AI investment, and Citadel founder Ken Griffin had said earlier in the week that investors are “almost certainly” in an AI bubble.
“Tech sold off, and crypto trades like tech right now, so it went down with it,” said Hugo Renaudin, CEO of Ulys.
Luke Davis, founder of Bull Market Blueprint, described it as an “everything” sell-off, with investors cutting exposure across technology and crypto while higher oil prices kept inflation risks in view. The damage was mostly confined to tech, however: an equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 rose 0.73% on Thursday. Davis also pointed to this week’s disclosure of critical vulnerabilities in PHP, the programming language behind most websites, as a source of unease.
Leveraged Longs Flushed Out
Several analysts said leverage turned a routine dip into a sharp one.
“Leveraged longs who bought the push toward $84,800 hoping for a breakout yesterday got flushed,” said Ryan Myher, COO of Genius. He noted spot Bitcoin ETFs took in more than $1 billion earlier in the week, though preliminary data shows outflows on Thursday.
Renaudin said many traders were long with borrowed money, and those positions were closed automatically as prices fell.
Derivatives Point to a Price Move, Not a Repositioning
Nexo analyst Iliya Kalchev said derivatives data suggests the drop was a price move rather than a shift in positioning. Open interest fell roughly in line with price, implying the number of contracts barely changed.
81,700 on Friday.
Crypto Trades Like Tech
Analysts said the move was driven by tech stocks rather than anything specific to crypto. Mixed results from Tesla and Meta revived questions about the payoff from AI investment, and Citadel founder Ken Griffin had said earlier in the week that investors are “almost certainly” in an AI bubble.
“Tech sold off, and crypto trades like tech right now, so it went down with it,” said Hugo Renaudin, CEO of Ulys.
Luke Davis, founder of Bull Market Blueprint, described it as an “everything” sell-off, with investors cutting exposure across technology and crypto while higher oil prices kept inflation risks in view. The damage was mostly confined to tech, however: an equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 rose 0.73% on Thursday. Davis also pointed to this week’s disclosure of critical vulnerabilities in PHP, the programming language behind most websites, as a source of unease.
Leveraged Longs Flushed Out
Several analysts said leverage turned a routine dip into a sharp one.
“Leveraged longs who bought the push toward $84,800 hoping for a breakout yesterday got flushed,” said Ryan Myher, COO of Genius. He noted spot Bitcoin ETFs took in more than $1 billion earlier in the week, though preliminary data shows outflows on Thursday.
Renaudin said many traders were long with borrowed money, and those positions were closed automatically as prices fell.
Derivatives Point to a Price Move, Not a Repositioning
Nexo analyst Iliya Kalchev said derivatives data suggests the drop was a price move rather than a shift in positioning. Open interest fell roughly in line with price, implying the number of contracts barely changed.