Bitcoin slipped below $84,000 in early Wednesday trading, briefly moving through a level that analysts had identified as an important marker for a shift toward seller control. Oil and the U.S. dollar also gained as geopolitical tensions intensified.
BTC was down about 1.5% at slightly above $84,200 during Asian hours after increased Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices higher. Rising crude prices also pushed Treasury yields and the dollar upward.
DOGE posted the largest decline among major cryptocurrencies, falling 5% to around $0.09. HYPE dropped almost 4% to about $91, while ether declined 3.5% to approximately $2,610. XRP fell nearly 3% to about $1.46. BNB, SOL, ZEC and TRX each declined between 1% and 2.5%, according to CoinDesk data.
Bitcoin had been holding near $86,600 on Tuesday before a steep sell-off early Wednesday drove the price to roughly $83,840. That move took BTC below the $84,000 threshold that FxPro said Tuesday would amount to “a victory for the bears.”
Attention is also turning to the Federal Reserve, which will release minutes from its September meeting later Wednesday. The central bank cut? No, it raised rates by a quarter percentage point at that meeting. Weaker employment figures have since reduced expectations for another rate increase this month, LVRG Research chief analyst Dan Khus said in an email to CoinDesk.
“The market had already priced in that hike, so traders are now looking at whether the notes sound patient or still point to one more increase before the end of the year,” Khus said.
Oil markets provided the main catalyst for Asian trading. Brent crude gained nearly 1% to around $101.50 a barrel as Iran stepped up attacks on tankers in recent days. The dollar strengthened against each Group-of-10 currency, while the 10-year Treasury yield increased three basis points to 5.31%.
Asian equities declined despite record closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 in the U.S. The MSCI Asia Pacific index fell 0.6%, with technology stocks in South Korea and Hong Kong moving lower. U.S. stock futures also reversed earlier gains.
Bitcoin remains about $1,200 above the $83,000 level that FxPro has identified as the point where sellers would take control. A break below that mark, the firm said, could send BTC toward $80,000.
