Bitcoin is hovering around $80,000 heading into a week with two major US events: a Federal Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday and the midterm elections on 3 November.
The price briefly fell to about $79,332 before recovering to around $80,300, down about 2.5% on the week. Bitcoin remains about 36% below its all-time high of $126,080.
ETF outflows weigh on October
US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw about $635.5 million in net outflows on Thursday and a further $137.9 million on Friday.
The funds still ended the week up about $301 million, helped by inflows earlier in the week. But they are down about $314 million for October so far.
What analysts are watching
Tim Sun of HashKey said the drop was “primarily driven by a broader correction in global risk assets,” and named $75,000 as the next key support level.
Daniela Hathorn of Capital.com pointed to persistent inflation, high Treasury yields and expectations of tighter Fed policy, which she said have reduced appetite for speculative assets.
Stephen Wundke of Algoz described $80,000 as a psychologically important level, and said Bitcoin needs to get back above $82,000 to support the bullish case. He also noted falling trading volumes as investors move out of altcoins and into stablecoins.
The Fed and the midterms
The Federal Reserve meets on 27 and 28 October, with its decision due on Wednesday. The US midterm elections follow on 3 November.
Both events could move risk appetite, which has already been hit by a sell-off in tech stocks.
What happens next
The levels analysts have flagged are $80,000 to hold and $82,000 to reclaim. Wednesday’s Fed statement, and what it signals for further rate rises, is the next major test.
