Bitcoin closed near $80,600 after falling below its 50-day moving average for the first time since mid-August, ending a 66-day stretch above a technical level widely watched by short-term traders. The move came alongside two consecutive days of net withdrawals from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which recorded combined outflows of about $773.5 million on Thursday and Friday.
The break below the 50-day average places Bitcoin in a weaker short-term technical position after a sustained period of support above the line. Bitcoin remained roughly 10% above its 200-day moving average, a longer-term trend measure, leaving the broader market structure less damaged than the latest daily price action suggests.
Friday’s ETF outflow reached $137.9 million after $635.6 million left the products on Thursday, the largest single-day withdrawal since June. The two-day figure does not establish a longer-term reversal in ETF demand, but it has removed a source of near-term support as Bitcoin tests lower price levels.
The selling extended across the largest crypto assets. Bitcoin fell 1.56% over 24 hours, while Ether dropped 2.31%, Solana declined 1.67%, XRP lost 1.58%, and BNB slipped 0.86%. Dogecoin fell 1.99%, Zcash declined 1.41%, and Hyperliquid’s HYPE token was down 1.03%. Ethena’s ENA token was a notable exception, rising 4.29%.
ETF withdrawals coincide with a retreat from altcoins
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of Maelstrom, said the firm had closed positions in Ether, ENA, Uniswap’s UNI token and other altcoins after taking profits. Hayes said he planned to remain on the sidelines rather than immediately redeploy capital into the market.
His comments fit a market environment in which liquidity appears selective rather than broadly risk-seeking. While major cryptocurrencies moved lower, some smaller tokens posted sharp gains, including IRYS, DOS and Chia’s XCH. Such moves can occur independently of Bitcoin’s direction, particularly in thinner markets, but they have not offset the broad decline among the most heavily traded assets.
Bitcoin’s move beneath the 50-day average also arrives after a period in which ETF flows had become a closely monitored signal of U.S.-based demand. Thursday’s $635.6 million withdrawal accounted for most of the two-day total, while Friday’s outflow showed that selling pressure persisted into the next trading session.
A 200-day moving average is generally treated as a longer-term trend indicator than the 50-day line. Bitcoin’s remaining premium over that level means the market has not yet retraced to the point where its broader uptrend would face the same technical pressure. A sustained failure to reclaim the 50-day average, though, would leave traders focused on whether the gap to the 200-day level begins to narrow.
Tokenized stocks expand as issuer objections grow
Elsewhere in digital-asset markets, tokenized equities continued to gain scale even as more public companies objected to their shares being represented on-chain. xStocks’ tokenized-stock market capitalization reached $1 billion, up 802.5% over the past year, according to the figures provided.
Solana held $523.1 million of tokenized-stock value, followed by X Layer with $304.1 million and Ethereum with $165.1 million. The assets were distributed across nine blockchains, illustrating how tokenized equity products are increasingly being issued and traded beyond Ethereum’s original smart-contract ecosystem.
The growth has been accompanied by rising scrutiny from listed companies whose shares are referenced by these products. Twenty-two companies had objected to having their stocks traded on the OKXICE tokenized-stock platform as of Oct. 23, up from 16 four days earlier and nine on Oct. 15. Newly listed objectors included Wells Fargo, Cisco Systems, Marvell Technology, Arm Holdings, Moderna and Intuit.
OKXICE TSV is described as a joint venture owned equally by Intercontinental Exchange and OKX U.S. Holding Company. The platform plans to allow approved users to trade tokenized U.S. equities around the clock through Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX’s X Layer blockchain, with stablecoins including USDC used for settlement.
Platform disclosures state that trading would pause when an underlying stock is halted, but do not provide another circuit-breaker mechanism. They also state that smart contracts may be upgraded without prior notice to users and that the contract governing trading eligibility has undergone internal auditing. Those features place tokenized-equity trading in a different operational framework from conventional stock-market venues, even where a token tracks a familiar public company.
Stablecoin redemption rules set a two-day standard
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued final stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act that are scheduled to take effect on Jan. 18, 2027. The rules establish standard processing for eligible redemption requests within no more than two business days, excluding weekends and federal holidays.
The final version removed an automatic extension that could have extended redemption timelines to seven calendar days after heavy demand. Under the rule, an issuer must notify the OCC supervisory office within 24 hours if redemptions for a single stablecoin brand exceed 10% of its circulating supply over a 24-hour period. Any extra processing time would require supervisory discretion.
The OCC’s revised confidential PS-01 report will track unpaid tokens, average redemption times and the dollar value of redemptions taking longer than two business days. Weekly and quarterly reporting is scheduled to begin on Jan. 25 and March 31, 2027, subject to approval by the Office of Management and Budget.
The rule gives stablecoin users a clearer baseline for redemption timing while requiring issuers to alert supervisors when demand reaches levels that could test their liquidity operations. That focus on redemption capacity contrasts with the current market’s attention on Bitcoin price levels and ETF flows, where demand can shift sharply over only a few trading sessions.
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