Bitcoin Falls to $82,700, an October Low, on Iran Oil Shock
Bitcoin slid 3.5% from its 24-hour high to $82,700 on Oct. 7 as Brent topped $101 on Iran's Hormuz threats and liquidations hit about $969M in a day.
Bitcoin dropped to $82,700 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, its lowest level since the start of the month. The price fell more than 3% from the day's open and about 3.5% from its 24-hour high near $85,800 after Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz sent oil higher, pushed US Treasury yields up and dragged stocks lower.
Details
Bitcoin bottomed at $82,734 on Bitstamp, Cointelegraph reported. Decrypt put the day's open at $85,544 and the low at $82,776. The trigger was a warning from an adviser to Iran's Revolutionary Guards that the Strait of Hormuz was closed, along with reports of attacks on ships in the region. Brent crude climbed above $101 a barrel, with WTI near $91.
The bond sell-off resumed. Both outlets put the 10-year Treasury yield at 5.34–5.36% intraday and the 30-year at 5.70–5.73%, the highest since 2002. A day earlier, we reported that the 10-year closed at 5.31%. The S&P 500 slipped about 0.6% and the Nasdaq about 0.7%, while gold also fell, a sign the move hit risk assets broadly rather than crypto alone.
Leveraged traders took the hit. CoinGlass data cited by Decrypt showed about $969 million in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours, $644 million of them longs. Our data shows bitcoin perpetual futures open interest down 2.9% on the day to $7.9 billion, with funding turning slightly negative as some traders position for further downside.
What it means for the market
As of 17:53 UTC, bitcoin traded at $83,200, according to our data, down 2.9% over 24 hours and 0.5% over the week, though still up 5.2% over 30 days. Price has slipped below its 20-day moving average ($83,500) but remains well above the 50-day ($79,600). The Fear & Greed Index sits at 71, still "Greed," so there is no sign of panic yet. For more on what funding rates signal, see our explainer.
For now, the main driver sits outside crypto: as long as oil and bond yields keep climbing, pressure on risk assets is likely to persist. Follow the day's picture on our dashboard and the bitcoin page.
