Cryptocurrency prices remained under pressure on Friday as Bitcoin slipped below $82,000 and major digital assets weakened amid a technology-led equity selloff, rising oil prices and renewed uncertainty over the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
Bitcoin traded at approximately $81,664, down 2.20 percent over 24 hours, with a market capitalization of about $1.64 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. The cryptocurrency traded between approximately $81,568 and $84,840 over the preceding 24 hours.
Ethereum fell 2.58 percent to about $2,403, with its market capitalization at roughly $293.48 billion and 24-hour trading volume around $13.45 billion.
The broader cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at approximately $2.72 trillion, down 3.36 percent over the previous day, while total 24-hour trading volume reached about $79.42 billion. Bitcoin dominance increased to 60.03 percent, reinforcing the concentration of market value in the largest cryptocurrency during the broader selloff.
The weakness followed Thursday’s sharp decline on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.60 percent as investors reassessed the enormous cost of artificial intelligence infrastructure. At the same time, Brent crude climbed toward $114 a barrel, its highest level in five months, intensifying concerns that higher energy prices could keep inflation elevated.
Bitcoin stays below $82,000
Bitcoin struggled to regain momentum after approaching $85,000 earlier in the week, with the latest decline leaving it close to the lower end of its recent trading range.
The cryptocurrency’s retreat has coincided with renewed pressure across risk-sensitive assets as investors question how quickly the massive spending associated with artificial intelligence can translate into financial returns.
Thursday’s U.S. equity session provided the clearest sign of that shift in sentiment. The Nasdaq fell 2.60 percent and semiconductor stocks suffered particularly heavy losses as concerns surrounding AI capital expenditure returned to the forefront.
Those pressures spilled into cryptocurrencies, which often trade in line with changes in broader investor appetite for technology and other higher-risk assets.
The oil rally has added another complication.
Brent crude reached about $114 a barrel as attacks on Saudi Arabia and the possibility of further regional escalation sustained concerns about energy supplies. European natural gas prices also gained another 4 percent, taking their October increase to almost 30 percent.
Higher energy costs can feed through to inflation, making it more difficult for central banks to lower borrowing costs and potentially increasing the attractiveness of interest-bearing assets relative to speculative investments.
Bitcoin has consequently struggled to capitalize fully on substantial institutional ETF demand, with broader macroeconomic concerns continuing to constrain risk appetite.
Read more: Bitcoin falls to $81,912.3 as AI stock sell-off and rising oil prices weigh on crypto
Ethereum, altcoins retreat
Selling pressure remained widespread across major cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum traded at about $2,403, down 2.58 percent over 24 hours, while XRP fell 2.22 percent to around $1.33. XRP’s market capitalization stood at approximately $83.68 billion.
Solana declined 2.41 percent to $104.34, with a market capitalization of about $61.52 billion, while Dogecoin dropped 3.15 percent to $0.0794.
Cardano fell 3.87 percent to around $0.2165, and Chainlink declined 2.80 percent to approximately $12.04.
Litecoin traded around $59.28, down 3.89 percent, while Polkadot stood near $1.12, down 4.62 percent. Shiba Inu also weakened by about 2.95 percent, trading near $0.000005.
BNB proved somewhat more resilient than several major peers, trading around $732.49, although it was still down 1.76 percent over 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
The widespread losses show that Friday’s weakness was not confined to Bitcoin and Ethereum, with investors reducing exposure across much of the large-cap cryptocurrency market.
Smaller tokens continued to produce much more extreme moves. AKEDO, for example, was up more than 53 percent over 24 hours, while Stacks fell about 10 percent, illustrating the unusually wide dispersion that remains common outside the market’s largest assets.
Bitcoin ETF demand holds
Institutional flows remained one of Bitcoin’s strongest sources of support despite the price decline.
U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted a combined $1.0747 billion in net inflows across three consecutive trading sessions from October 19 through October 21, according to Farside Investors.
The funds recorded $526.7 million in net inflows on October 19, followed by $23.2 million on October 20 and another $524.8 million on October 21.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust accounted for $235 million of the October 21 total, while Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund attracted $212.7 million. Other funds, including Bitwise, ARK/21Shares and several smaller products, also recorded inflows that day.
Farside’s table currently shows zero net flow for October 22, leaving the previous three-session inflow streak intact at just over $1.07 billion.
The strong institutional demand has not been sufficient to prevent Bitcoin from weakening, highlighting the size of the broader risk-off pressure affecting digital assets.
Ether ETF flows have been less supportive.
U.S. spot Ether funds recorded $103.3 million of net outflows on October 19 and another $26.1 million on October 20. They then attracted $14.9 million on October 21 before returning to $20.3 million of net withdrawals on October 22.
The divergence leaves Bitcoin with a stronger recent institutional-flow backdrop than Ethereum even as both cryptocurrencies trade lower.
Market sentiment deteriorates
Cryptocurrency sentiment has weakened sharply alongside the broader market decline.
Alternative.me’s Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 50 on Friday, indicating Neutral conditions, compared with 68, or Greed, one day earlier and 63 a week earlier.
The 18-point one-day decline captures the speed at which sentiment changed following the technology selloff and renewed concerns over inflation and interest rates.
Bitcoin’s growing share of the overall crypto market provides another indication of defensive positioning.
CoinMarketCap puts Bitcoin dominance at 60.03 percent, while Ethereum accounts for roughly another 10.7 percent of market value.
