Bitcoin traded near $82,700 on Thursday morning in Asia after giving back a late Wednesday surge that carried it within touching distance of $85,000, leaving the coin sitting on a support level that some analysts say guards a slide toward $70,000. The move up cleared $84,000, the ceiling that had turned bitcoin back on 13 and 14 October, and topped out near $84,800, its highest price since 7 October. Within about six hours the coin had dropped more than $2,000 to around $82,600, a reversal CoinDesk attributed to mixed results from Tesla and Meta that knocked US stock futures lower and revived doubts about the artificial intelligence trade. The level that matters now is $82,500, the floor analysts are watching after the failed breakout.
Tesla and Meta fail to calm AI nerves
Tesla fell 3% in after-hours trading after cutting its capital-spending forecast, and chip-equipment maker Lam Research dropped 7% on a weak outlook. Meta rose 2% after raising its AI spending plans, but that was not enough to lift the mood. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.1% and S&P 500 futures lost 0.5%. Asia took it harder than New York had. South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.2% as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix retreated, a repeat of the chip-led selloff we covered on Tuesday, and China's CSI 300 fell 1.7%, on course for a bear market. Alibaba led Chinese e-commerce stocks lower after Beijing called for tighter quality control. Oil climbed again as Middle East tensions flared, keeping Brent crude above $110 a barrel, a level first reached in the run-up we reported last Friday.
A quiet market waits on the Fed
Beneath the noise, this is an unusually calm market. Bitcoin's 28-day realised volatility has fallen to about 1.2%, close to its lowest reading of 2026, and trading volumes have thinned as traders avoid big positions before the Federal Reserve's rate decision on 28 October, where markets put a high probability on no change. Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, told Bloomberg the weakness in equities has pushed bitcoin "back to its recent range," adding that she expects $85,000 to be retested in the coming days, though conviction will stay limited while hawkish Fed signals are a risk. Among the majors, zcash was the only standout, up nearly 3% to about $1,290, while XRP edged higher. Hyperliquid's HYPE fell 3% to about $79, dogecoin lost 2% and solana slipped about 1%. Ether traded near $2,435. Institutional buyers kept accumulating through the weakness: US spot bitcoin ETFs have taken in $1.08 billion over the past three trading days, the clearest bid under the market as it waits for the Fed.