Bitcoin Falls Below $80,000 Over the Weekend as $810 Million in Positions Are Liquidated Before the Fed
A thin-market selloff took bitcoin to $79,146, its weakest level in more than a month, and it now heads into the Fed meeting under its 50-day average with traders eyeing $78,000.
Monday, October 26, 2026/2 min read
Bitcoin slipped under $80,000 over the weekend for the first time since 15 October, and the break did its damage in a market with few buyers. The price fell as low as $79,146 on Saturday, its weakest level in more than a month, then climbed back above the round number, Investing.com reported. At 10:31 Eastern on Sunday it traded at $80,352.
The move extends the slide we covered on Friday, when the price was near $81,000 and spot bitcoin ETFs had just recorded a $635 million outflow. By Monday morning in Asia it was near $80,100, down about 1 percent over 24 hours, with a market value of about $1.61 trillion, according to Analytics Insight, and it dipped toward $79,800 during the Asian session.
Why did bitcoin fall below $80,000?
Leverage did most of the work. More than $810 million in crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, about $689 million of them bullish bets, according to Coinglass data cited by Investing.com. Thin weekend liquidity amplified the selling once the price broke $80,000 and forced leveraged longs to close.
The macro backdrop was no help. Brent crude settled at $116.72 on Friday, its highest since late April, and markets price a December Fed rate hike at between 80 and 90 percent, Analytics Insight said. Higher rates tend to strengthen the dollar and reduce demand for riskier assets, as Investing.com put it.
Where are the next support and resistance levels?
Bitcoin is on track for a fourth straight daily decline and its first monthly drop since June, Investing.com said, and it has fallen below its 50-day moving average near $81,700, which now acts as resistance. Traders are watching support at about $78,400 and $77,876. Analytics Insight collected a range of analyst views: $79,000 and $78,000 as the levels to hold, $82,000 to $82,500 as the level to reclaim for the dip to count as a pause, and some calls for a possible bottom as low as $74,000 to $75,000. Those are opinions, not forecasts.
Ether was around $2,330 on Sunday and $2,320 on Monday, down 1.8 percent, with XRP down 1.8 percent and Solana near $101. Tron was the only major coin in the green, Analytics Insight said.
What else happened in crypto over the weekend?
- Strategy spent $193 million repurchasing preferred shares while buying just 267 bitcoin, and Fidelity Digital Assets estimates preferred stock offerings have financed purchases of about 136,000 bitcoin since 2025, Investing.com reported.
- Hardware wallet maker Keystone disclosed a customer data breach covering names, contact details, shipping addresses and purchase details. It says private keys and recovery phrases were not exposed, and it warned customers about phishing.
- A test of Ethereum's Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet, due Monday, was postponed without a new date, and phase one of Solana's Alpenglow upgrade went live on mainnet, Analytics Insight said.
The Fed decides on Wednesday, with a hold expected and the December signal the real catalyst. ETF flow data has been mixed this week, so Friday's options expiry and the Fed's tone will decide whether $78,000 holds or becomes the next stop.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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