Alphabet drags the Nasdaq, then bitcoin breaks after the bell. BTC hits $78,200, a six-week low
Bitcoin held its ground through a rough day for big tech, then lost about $2,500 in the 45 minutes after the US close on Thursday, 29 Oct 2026.
The brief
Market mood▼ Bearish
AI-assisted A summary of our reporting on this date. Highlighted phrases link to the full story.
Alphabet's record drop pulled the Nasdaq down 1.4%, and bitcoin fell to 78,200 dollars after the US close, its lowest since 18 Sep.
Polymarket halted trading for about an hour after a compromised third-party script drained some accounts, and says it will repay affected traders.
The Bank of England set out how clearing houses could take tokenised collateral, but stablecoins would need a rule change.
NYSE owner ICE agreed to run US-regulated versions of perpetual markets that trade on Hyperliquid, pending approvals.
Australia's Westpac will cap payments to crypto exchanges at 10,000 Australian dollars a month from 1 Dec, citing scam losses.
HTX has left the UK and settled the FCA's High Court case over its crypto promotions, with undertakings that run to 2031.
The ECB held its deposit rate at 2.50% as US data showed 3.4% growth and 3.6% PCE inflation, and bitcoin barely moved.
Thailand's Supreme Court ruled that bitcoin is property in a 2.48 BTC robbery case, upholding a 10-year term.
Utah filed criminal gambling charges against Kalshi and named its two co-founders; Kalshi calls it an overreach.
Christine Lagarde will step down as ECB president on 7 Feb 2027, hours before a rate decision, months before her term ends.
US spot bitcoin ETFs took in 137.3 million dollars on Wednesday, turning October positive, Farside data show.
Bitcoin Core fixed three bugs found by an AI scan in fast point releases, the first test of its new security policy.
Singapore police say tampered Ledger wallets bought in local shops cost two victims about S$3.5 million.
Bitcoin slipped back below 80,000 dollars as Seoul opened after the Fed's hawkish hold, First Print reports.
Latest reporting
200 reports on the desk
BitcoinMacro Note: The ECB holds at 2.5% as US inflation runs hotterThis note asks one thing: did a busy afternoon of central bank and US data change the macro picture for bitcoin? My answer is not yet, but the direction of travel is not friendly.
BitcoinThai Supreme Court rules bitcoin is property in a 2.48 BTC robberyA defendant argued bitcoin was not "property" that could be robbed. Thailand's highest court disagreed.
CFTCUtah files criminal charges against Kalshi and its two co-foundersLast week Utah sued Kalshi. This week it charged it.
BitcoinMacro Note: Lagarde will leave the ECB on 7 Feb, nine months earlyThis note asks one thing: does an early exit at the top of the European Central Bank change the macro picture for bitcoin holders? My answer, for now, is no.
Bitcoin ETFsETF Desk: bitcoin ETFs take in $137.3M on 28 Oct, turning October positiveUS spot bitcoin funds took in a net $137.3 million on Wednesday, 28 Oct, a third straight day of inflows, with BlackRock's IBIT adding $136.0 million. That turned October positive for bitcoin funds, at $110.1 million after 20 sessions. Ether funds lost $21.4 million.
BitcoinBitcoin Core’s new fast-fix policy gets its first test: three bugs found by an LLMThis note explains what Bitcoin Core disclosed on Wednesday, who needs to upgrade, and what it tells us about the security policy it adopted last week.
Markets today
Prices from CoinLore, sentiment from Alternative.me| Coin | Price | 24h | 7 days | Market cap | Latest coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BitcoinBTC | $78,967.28 | 2.75% down | 3.70% down | $1.58T | Alphabet drags the Nasdaq, then bitcoin breaks after the bell. BTC hits $78,200, a six-week low |
| EthereumETH | $2,271.60 | 3.61% down | 5.57% down | $278B | ENSv2 goes live as the ENS DAO freezes v1 .eth registrations |
| SolanaSOL | $97.05 | 5.15% down | 7.13% down | $52.7B | Firedancer now charges a 1 SOL burn per bug report after a contest drew 809 submissions |
| XRPXRP | $1.24 | 6.15% down | 6.41% down | $74.3B | Evernorth signs Cantor equity line for up to 5.2M shares to buy XRP |
| Binance CoinBNB | $706.50 | 6.54% down | 3.80% down | $98.3B | Security Alert: Predict.fun users lose about 400,000 USDT as Myriad voids 10 rigged markets |
Total crypto market$2.66T0.94% down
Traded in 24 hours$142B
Share of the market
Bitcoin 59.3%Ether 10.5%Others 30.3%
Fear & Greed Index
51Neutral51 yesterday
Understand the essentials
All guides
GuideWhat is a MiCA-compliant stablecoin? The EU’s rules, explainedUnder MiCA, a stablecoin offered in the EU needs an authorised issuer, full reserves and redemption at par. Here's what that means for you.
GuideWhat is a quantum attack on bitcoin? Exposed keys, explainedQuantum computers can't break bitcoin today. Here's what a future attack would target, why some coins are more exposed than others and what you can do.
GuideWhat are tokenized stocks? How on-chain shares work and what you ownTokenized stocks are crypto tokens that track a company's shares. Some are real shares recorded on a blockchain; many are a separate product that only follows the price. This guide explains the models, the rules in the US and EU, and what can go wrong.
GuideWhat are crypto liquidations? How leverage can wipe out a tradeCrypto liquidations happen when an exchange automatically closes a trader's leveraged position because losses have eaten through the collateral, or margin, backing it. The trader loses most or all of that margin. Liquidations are why crypto prices sometimes fall or jump much faster than the news alone would suggest.
GuideWhat is a crypto custodian? How custody works, and who holds your keysA crypto custodian is a company that safeguards the private keys to digital assets on behalf of clients. This guide explains how custody works, who the main types of custodian are, how the rules differ in the US and EU, and what can go wrong.
GuideWhat is DeFi lending? How crypto loans work without a bankDeFi lending lets you lend and borrow crypto through smart contracts instead of a bank. Borrowers lock up more collateral than they borrow, and anyone can liquidate a loan that becomes unsafe.
The desks
Every beat we cover, newest firstBitcoin
Bitcoin ends its run of lower closes. Options still shrug at the Fed
- AI stocks lift the Nasdaq 1.2%. Bitcoin climbs back above $80,000 before the Fed
- Robinhood’s crypto revenue falls 55% to $120M as prediction markets bring in $173M
- Galaxy Digital earns $323M in Q3 and approves a new $200M buyback
Ethereum
ENSv2 goes live as the ENS DAO freezes v1 .eth registrations
- Ethereum patches a Glamsterdam deposit flaw that could hand validator stakes to builders
- Arthur Hayes says Maelstrom sold its directional book; trackers count up to $26 million
- Sentora opens the first outside-curated Aave V4 markets, lending RLUSD, PYUSD and OUSD
Altcoins
CME lists BCH and UNI futures Monday after a 30% slide in UNI
- Aptos turns on an encrypted mempool that hides transactions until blocks are final
- StarkWare calls an independent Starknet L1 its ‘clearest path forward’
- Zcash price holds $1,300 after first weekly ETF outflow
Regulation
Itaú formalises its crypto brokerage with Brazil’s central bank
- CFTC and Justice Department sue Utah to stop its case against Kalshi
- Binance applies for Brazil licence; 22 tokens and eight services cut for local users
- Korea moves toward a fourth delay of its 22% crypto tax, reports say
Markets
Stocks rise into Fed week. Bitcoin ends Monday below $80,000
- Bitcoin dips below $80,000 as longs lose $404M. It ends near $80,400
- Dow drops 1.2% as tech steadies. Bitcoin holds $81,000, ends near $81,200
- a16z renames its crypto arm a16z Frontier and widens its bets to AI
Institutional
Strategy pauses bitcoin buying and spends $204.9M on STRC buybacks as Strive adds 6,182 BTC
- J.P. Morgan Asset Management brings its tokenized money market funds to Solana
- SpaceX and Tesla study a merger that would pool 30,221 bitcoin
- Super League stockholders back Metaplanet’s 2,100 BTC deal for control
Our reporters
All authors
Joaquín Larrabure
Bastien Quilliot
Dalia Haddadin
Ngozi Ekwueme
Kavya Raghunathan
Nomvula Hadebe
Elin Sørhaug
Jorien Haasbroek
Alasdair Rennick
Mateo Varga
Folasade Arinze
Marguerite Ilunga
Hyun-woo Baek
Ludovico Ceccarelli
Riku Haverinen
Akriti SethBitcoin, Macro Analysis
Alex ChenDeFi, Market Analysis
Amara JeyasingheLayer 2, Blockchain Infrastructure
Begoña Iriondo
Dmitri Asante-LõhmusCrypto Security, Blockchain Forensics
Inés Arambarri
Oskar Halloran
Renata Okafor-BlaiseCrypto Regulation, CBDCs
Solène Nakashima-PrattNFTs, Web3 Culture
Tariq VestergaardDeFi Protocols, Smart Contracts
Teodor Branković
Akriti SethBitcoin, Macro Analysis
All news
160 articles, page 1 of 16
TokenizationGoogle previews MPC custody service for banks, plans commercial launch in early 2027Google Multi-Party Compute splits signing keys across separate systems and checks each transaction against an institution's rules before it is signed.
Real-world AssetsDTCC launches tokenization service for DTC-held securities with 20 firms signed upThe post-trade utility starts small: 34 eligible securities, two networks and a conversion desk that keeps business hours.
Crypto HackSecurity Alert: Zilliqa CEO steps down as X-Bridge stays shutZilliqa says chief executive Alexander Zahnd has stepped down at his own request and that its X-Bridge remains suspended while an outside cybersecurity firm investigates. DEX PlunderSwap says pools worth about $33,700 were drained last week. Native ZIL is not affected, Zilliqa says.
GENIUS ACTMoody’s gives Ripple’s RLUSD A2 and P-1 ratings, citing its reservesThe agency looked at what backs the dollar stablecoin and how it is redeemed. Ripple says no stablecoin has been rated this high before.
Bitcoin ETFsETF Desk: bitcoin ETFs take in $176M on 27 Oct, ether ETFs lose $60.2MUS spot bitcoin funds took in a net $176.0 million on Tuesday, 27 Oct, a second day of inflows, with BlackRock's IBIT adding $151.5 million and Fidelity's FBTC $24.5 million. Ether funds lost $60.2 million. October is now $27.2 million negative for bitcoin funds after 19 sessions.
CBDCECB warns fake letters are selling ‘investments’ in its digital euro pilotThe pilot is real, but it is a test for payment firms, merchants and central bank staff. Nobody can buy into it.
CryptoDatavault AI to restate a year of results over bitcoin it cannot withdrawDatavault AI says investors should no longer rely on four sets of its financial statements. It has reclassified a $150 million share sale to Scilex, paid in bitcoin, after failing since June to withdraw the coins from a Biconomy wallet. Its shares fell 49.6% on Tuesday.
Crypto HackBithumb hack of staff messenger draws Seoul security office meetingThe exchange says the staff-only system is cut off from trading and customer assets are safe. It is still working out whose personal data leaked, and the presidential office is convening officials.
CoinbaseSecurity Alert: Coinbase says analytics vendor Amplitude exposed some customer contact dataCoinbase says it has not had a data breach, but an incident at its analytics vendor Amplitude hit a small subset of Coinbase customer contact data. It says funds were not affected and it is notifying customers and regulators. It has not said how many people are involved.
BNBSecurity Alert: Predict.fun users lose about 400,000 USDT as Myriad voids 10 rigged marketsPrediction market Predict.fun says a small number of users lost about 400,000 USDT from their wallets and that its third-party-hosted API documentation site may have been compromised. It promises full reimbursement. A day earlier, rival Myriad voided 10 markets after an attacker used a leaked internal wallet key to force false results.