Bitcoin fell below USD 82,000 during Thursday's Asian trading session as falling technology shares and renewed concerns over artificial intelligence spending weighed on risk markets. The cryptocurrency lost as much as 2.9% since midnight UTC, its sharpest decline in two weeks. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.32%, while Asian stocks extended their losses.
The decline followed Wednesday's failed rally toward USD 85,000. Altcoins also weakened as traders reduced futures exposure and demand for downside options persisted.
Bitcoin Retreats After Brief Break Above USD 84,000
Bitcoin had cleared USD 84,000, a level that rejected advances on October 13 and 14, before reaching roughly USD 84,800. Within six hours, it fell over USD 2,000 to USD 82,600.
Bitcoin steadied just below USD 82,800. Selling later pushed it beneath USD 82,000, bringing the USD 82,500 area back into focus. Some market watchers identified a possible slide toward USD 70,000 if that level fails.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares fell 3% in after-hours trading after a cut to its capital-spending forecast. Lam Research lost 7% following a weak outlook. Meta rose 2% after increasing its planned AI spending, but broader stock futures declined.
The S&P 500 futures contract lost 0.66%. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped more than 3%, South Korea's Kospi fell 3.5%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 2.7%. Chinese stocks entered bear-market territory, while crude oil rose amid renewed Middle East tensions. Earlier, the Kospi lost 2.2% and China's CSI 300 fell 1.7% as major technology shares retreated.
Altcoins Decline as Futures Liquidations Accelerate
Ether fell 2.6% toward USD 2,400, while Solana lost 2.4% to around USD 104 despite the overnight launch of its Alpenglow upgrade. Earlier figures showed DOGE down 2%, HYPE down 3% and XRP up less than 1%. ZEC stood out, gaining nearly 3% to USD 1,290.
The broader market also weakened. The CoinDesk 80 index fell 3.2%, compared with a 2.5% decline in the CoinDesk 5. DeFi tokens suffered larger losses, with the sector index down 5.6%.
At the same time, crypto derivatives trading volume surged 19% to USD 226.6 billion. Open interest declined 2.46% to USD 141.8 billion, and liquidations jumped 52% to USD 431.1 million. Long and short positions accounted for nearly equal shares of liquidations.
Bitcoin trading volume rose 36%, while Ether increased 27%. Yet their open interest moved broadly in line with prices, showing limited change in outstanding contract counts. Funding rates remained barely positive.
Elsewhere, ZEC, NEAR, UNI, LINK, and SUI showed sharper declines in open interest than in price. ZEC open interest fell 6.99%, while NEAR dropped 8.83% and UNI lost 10.17%, indicating traders reduced positions.
Read More: What Bitcoin Exchange Reserves Reveal About Supply and Selling Pressure
Gold Contracts Gain Interest as Bitcoin Options Stay Cautious
Commodity-linked futures moved differently. Gold open interest rose 12% despite weaker prices, while tokenized gold XAUT gained 10% in open interest. Silver added 6.8%, and crude oil contracts increased 6.29%.
Crude oil funding stood at negative 0.0126%, indicating short traders paid to maintain positions. Meanwhile, open-interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta shifted from net market buying to selling across cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and ether.
Monero stood apart on funding. Its annualized rate reached roughly 70%, indicating substantially higher costs for leveraged longs than elsewhere in the market.
Options markets showed subdued expectations for price swings. Bitcoin's BVIV and ether's EVIV implied volatility measures remained near their 2026 lows, although short-dated options continued to favor downside protection.
On Deribit, calls at USD 85,000 and USD 86,000 expiring October 30 led trading volume. Short-term put skews nevertheless persisted, while spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted more than USD 1 billion during the week's first three days. Ether options showed a preference for near-term downside protection. Weekly U.S. jobless claims figures were due later on Thursday.
Conclusion
Bitcoin's failed rally toward USD 85,000 gave way to fresh selling as technology stocks and Asian equities fell. Crypto derivatives recorded USD 431.1 million in liquidations, while commodity futures attracted greater open interest. Despite strong Bitcoin ETF inflows, short-term options continued to favor downside protection.