Bitcoin fell on Friday, extending its recent decline as risk appetite remained weak due to a sharp selloff in artificial intelligence stocks and rising oil prices. The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped 0.7% to $81,909 by 02:50 ET (06:50 GMT), staying within an $80,000 to $87,000 trading range that has held for the past month.
The broader crypto market also saw muted activity, with major altcoins trading in a flat-to-low range. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 1% to $2,406.84, while XRP declined 0.9%. Solana remained unchanged, Cardano dipped 0.4%, and BNB rose 1%. Among memecoins, Dogecoin and $TRUMP showed little movement.
The decline in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies came amid a broader selloff in global technology stocks, driven by concerns over higher interest rates and the long-term sustainability of AI. The tech rout, which showed some signs of pausing on Friday, left tech shares nursing deep losses for the week, keeping market sentiment fragile. Anticipation of more major tech earnings and key central bank meetings next week also contributed to caution.
A sustained surge in oil prices added to market uncertainty. Oil hit an over five-month high on Friday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with reports suggesting a likely resumption of U.S. and Israeli hostilities against Iran in November.
Despite the market downturn, Bitcoin ETFs saw their best week of inflows since late September, breaking a two-week streak of outflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $442.7 million in inflows in the week to October 22, according to data from SoSoValue. However, these inflows did not translate into significant price strength for Bitcoin, which remained rangebound.