Bitcoin fell below $82,000 late Thursday as a sharp retreat in U.S. technology stocks spilled into Asian equity markets, extending a risk-off move that also triggered nearly $441 million in cryptocurrency liquidations. The sell-off pushed Bitcoin down 3.4% over 24 hours to $81,387 at 9:30 p.m. ET, placing the closely watched $80,000 threshold back at the center of market attention.
CoinGlass recorded $440.9 million in liquidations across crypto markets during the 24-hour decline, with long positions accounting for $397 million of the total. The imbalance indicates that traders positioned for prices to rise absorbed most of the forced selling as major tokens moved lower.
Ethereum dropped 3.5% to $2,388, while XRP declined 3.8%. Zcash posted the steepest loss among the named assets, falling 7.7%. The broad crypto market was down about 3%, showing that the move extended beyond Bitcoin rather than being driven by a single token-specific development.
Tech shares set the tone for the sell-off
The crypto decline followed a difficult session for U.S. equities, led by large technology companies whose valuations and growth expectations have made them especially sensitive to changes in risk appetite. The Nasdaq Composite closed 2.6% lower, its largest one-day decline since June, while the S&P 500 fell 1.21% for its weakest session since July.
Several of the market’s biggest technology names recorded much larger losses. Meta Platforms fell 6.98%, Micron Technology dropped 6.26%, Nvidia lost 4.4%, and Advanced Micro Devices declined 8.1%.
Those declines matter for Bitcoin because the asset has often traded alongside high-growth technology shares during broad shifts in appetite for risk. When traders reduce exposure to volatile equity sectors, leveraged cryptocurrency positions can face added pressure, particularly during periods of thin liquidity outside U.S. trading hours.
The selling continued through Asian markets on Friday morning. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.6%, indicating that the reaction to the U.S. technology rout had moved beyond a single trading session or region.
Liquidations amplify moves in both directions
Crypto liquidations occur when a trading platform automatically closes a leveraged position after losses consume the collateral supporting it. In a rapid downturn, those mandatory sales can add momentum to falling prices as platforms sell assets into an already weak market.
The $397 million in liquidated long positions reported by CoinGlass suggests that leverage intensified Thursday’s decline. Long positions use borrowed funds or derivatives to benefit from rising prices, but they become vulnerable when the market falls quickly enough to cross liquidation levels.
The scale of the liquidations was meaningful relative to the broader 3% market move, though it did not approach the largest deleveraging events seen during major market crashes. That distinction leaves the $80,000 Bitcoin level as a more immediate technical and psychological reference point than a signal of a disorderly market breakdown.
A sustained move below that area could prompt further closing of leveraged long positions, while a recovery above it would reduce pressure on traders whose strategies are tied to round-number support levels. Such levels do not determine price direction on their own, but they often concentrate stop-loss orders and derivatives activity.
ETF flows and economic data remain in focus
Market participants were also watching flows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which have become a visible measure of institutional and wealth-management demand in the United States. The supplied figures cited more than $524 million in net inflows on October 21, suggesting that fund buying had remained active shortly before the latest sell-off.
ETF flow figures can offer useful evidence of demand, but they do not necessarily move in step with intraday prices. Fund subscriptions and redemptions reflect activity across a trading day, while crypto markets trade continuously and can react immediately to equity volatility, liquidation cascades, and changes in derivatives positioning.
Friday’s release of the S&P Global Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI was another focus for markets. Manufacturing surveys can affect both equities and cryptocurrencies when they reshape expectations for economic growth, corporate earnings, or future monetary policy.
The supplied material referred to a manufacturing reading of 47.8, a level below 50 that would indicate contraction in factory activity under the PMI methodology. Weak new-orders data can add to concern about growth, though markets also weigh whether slowing activity could eventually support expectations for easier monetary policy.
Bitcoin faces a familiar macro test
The latest move places Bitcoin in a market environment dominated by the same forces affecting technology equities: sensitivity to growth data, concern over stretched valuations, and rapid repositioning in leveraged trades. That relationship can be uncomfortable for holders expecting crypto to trade independently during periods of financial-market stress.
Bitcoin’s drop below $82,000 does not by itself establish a longer-term trend. It does show that the asset remains exposed when technology stocks lead a broad reduction in risk-taking, especially when derivatives markets are carrying substantial bullish leverage.
The next direction is likely to depend on whether U.S. equity weakness stabilizes, whether Bitcoin can hold near the $80,000 area, and whether ETF demand remains resilient after the sell-off.
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