Bitcoin Defends $81K as Crypto Market Braces for the Fed’s October Meeting

Bitcoin ended October 17 at $81,378, almost flat on the day after trading in a tight $80,905–$81,626 range. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has now defended the $80,000 area for the entire week, a show of resilience in an otherwise soft market. Ether closed at $2,400, down 0.8%, and total crypto market capitalization stood at $2.69 trillion.

Market breadth was clearly negative: of the 50 largest assets, only 6 rose while 40 fell. The standout was TON Coin, which surged 31.8% to $1.78. On the derivatives side there was a notable cooling — 24-hour liquidations dropped to roughly $315 million, about a third of the $1 billion flush seen earlier in the week. The Fear & Greed index sits at 55, in “Greed” territory but cooling from 63.

The macro calendar is what matters now. September US inflation came in hot at 3.7% year-on-year, the 10-year Treasury yield sits near 5.1%, and all eyes are on the Federal Reserve’s October 27–28 meeting. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw over $261 million in outflows, a sign that institutional buyers are pausing for clarity.

There were genuine adoption bright spots too: Visa launched USDC-based commercial funding for cross-border payouts via Visa Direct, and Circle is pushing USDC into around 40 emerging markets — real utility growth beneath the price chop. Longer-term watchers are also debating Google’s quantum-chip progress and what it could mean for old Bitcoin wallets, though experts stress there is no imminent threat.

What to watch next: whether $80,000 holds into the Fed meeting, ETF flow data, and any shift in rate-cut expectations. If you’re new to markets, our free forex course teaches risk management and chart basics that apply to crypto too — and the forex tools page has position-size calculators for planning trades. (Not financial advice.)