Bitcoin remained under pressure heading into Friday’s Wall Street open, trading below $82,000 after a 3.2% decline the previous day pushed BTC/USD to $80,840 on Bitstamp. The move brought the market back toward the lower end of its recent $80,000-to-$87,000 range as weakness in AI-linked equities and renewed outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs reduced appetite for higher-risk assets.
The immediate concern for Bitcoin traders is whether $80,000 can continue to hold as a short-term floor. BTC briefly traded below $81,000 before stabilizing, but the rebound lacked enough momentum to challenge the middle of its established range. Price action was relatively subdued during the Asian session, while equities in the region initially extended their decline.
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $635 million on Thursday, according to Farside Investors data. The withdrawal was the largest one-day outflow since late June, adding a visible source of selling pressure after several sessions in which Bitcoin struggled to sustain moves higher.
Long positions absorb most liquidations
Derivatives markets amplified the downturn as Bitcoin moved toward support. CoinGlass recorded $336 million in cryptocurrency liquidations during the 24 hours through noon UTC, with long positions accounting for $281 million of that total.
Liquidations occur when a trading platform automatically closes leveraged positions whose collateral can no longer cover losses. The concentration in long liquidations indicates that traders positioned for prices to rise were caught on the wrong side of the move. Such forced selling can deepen short-term declines because closed positions often require the sale of the underlying asset or related derivatives.
The liquidation figure was spread across the cryptocurrency market rather than confined to Bitcoin, suggesting that the price move reflected a broader reduction in risk exposure. Bitcoin’s decline nevertheless drew particular attention because it occurred alongside sizable ETF redemptions, which affect a channel that has become central to US market demand for the asset.
Bitcoin has repeatedly traded within the $80,000-to-$87,000 area in recent sessions. A recovery above the upper boundary would require renewed spot demand and a reduction in leveraged bearish positioning. A sustained break below $80,000, by contrast, would leave traders looking for lower historical support zones without the benefit of a clearly established range floor.
AI financing worries weigh on technology shares
The cryptocurrency pullback coincided with another unsettled session for equities tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure. CoreWeave shares had fallen 15.5% for the week by the close of Thursday’s US trading session and reached their lowest level since May 2025. Bernstein also reduced its price target for the cloud-computing company to $51 from $74.
CoreWeave has become a closely watched proxy for the financing demands created by the AI buildout. The company rents access to high-performance computing capacity, an industry that requires large upfront commitments to chips, data centers, power supplies and network equipment before revenue from customers is fully realized.
Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, described the funding constraint in an interview with CNBC on Thursday. “There is a scarcity of capital,” Huang said of neocloud buildouts, adding that demand for capital was greater than its availability.
His comments placed a sharper focus on the gap between enthusiasm for AI computing and the availability of financing for the infrastructure needed to deliver it. Companies building data-center capacity may need substantial debt and equity funding before they can generate durable cash flow, making their shares particularly sensitive to lending conditions and changes in risk appetite.
That sensitivity can spill into cryptocurrency markets without establishing a direct link between AI companies and Bitcoin. Both sectors have attracted traders seeking exposure to growth themes and liquidity-driven rallies. When concerns over financing and valuations hit technology stocks, leveraged cryptocurrency positions can also become more vulnerable to rapid de-risking.
Asian equities show early strain
South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index illustrated the uneven mood across Asian markets. The index opened at 5,402 points before falling to 5,305, its lowest level since late July, according to market data cited in the source material. It later recovered to close 0.3% higher for the day.
The intraday rebound suggested that selling pressure in equities was not uniform. Yet the early drop, combined with the US technology retreat, offered little support for Bitcoin during a period when ETF flow data and derivatives liquidations were already pointing to a defensive market stance.
Bond yields and corporate borrowing costs remain relevant variables for risk assets because they influence the economics of financing capital-intensive projects and the relative appeal of assets that do not generate cash flow. Huang’s remarks focused on financing availability for AI infrastructure, rather than providing evidence of a market-wide credit contraction. Bitcoin’s price action is more immediately visible through ETF flows, leveraged-position unwinding and the willingness of spot buyers to defend the $80,000 area.
A calmer derivatives market could limit the forced selling that accompanied the latest decline. Until then, the combination of heavy ETF withdrawals, long liquidations and unsettled technology shares leaves Bitcoin trading near the weakest edge of its recent range.
For deeper context on BTC’s resilience at current levels, explore whether you should buy Bitcoin while it’s still above $70,000 now.
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