Bitcoin Holds $80,000 as Brent Nears $110 Ahead of the Fed

Bitcoin ended a volatile week little changed, trading near $82,500 on Monday against roughly $83,400 a week earlier. The low came after Wednesday’s US inflation release, when the price briefly slipped to about $80,200 before buyers stepped in and defended the $80,000 level. Ether underperformed, falling from around $2,550 to about $2,425, as higher-beta assets bore the brunt of the risk-off move. In our view, digital assets are still trading as macro assets, driven by rate expectations and long-dated Treasury yields rather than crypto-specific news. Until that relationship weakens, the direction of oil, inflation and Fed policy is likely to matter more for prices than on-chain or sector developments.

Institutional demand stayed weak. According to Farside, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of $228.4 million last week. Tuesday’s $175.7 million inflow was the only meaningful break in the trend. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $165.4 million of the redemptions, a notable signal given its role as the largest and most liquid vehicle in the segment. Spot Ether ETFs fared worse, losing about $320 million and bringing October outflows to nearly $955 million. Cumulative net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs since launch still stand at roughly $57 billion, which suggests the recent selling reflects tactical de-risking rather than a broad exit from the asset class.