Why is bitcoin down today?
Thursday, 22 October 2026 · price as of Oct 22, 2026, 15:37 UTC · updates through the day
Bitcoin is down $2,954 (3.50%) over the past 24 hours, at $81,520. Bitcoin is moving with tech stocks: the Nasdaq is down 2.18%, a sign of broad risk aversion. Other cryptocurrencies are falling too: ether is down 3.1% and solana 2.2%. US spot bitcoin ETFs had net inflows of $524.8m on Wednesday, 3 trading days of inflows in a row (data: Farside Investors). In the wider market the dollar index is +0.02% and the 10-year Treasury yield down 14 basis points; a firmer dollar and higher yields usually weigh on bitcoin. The next major US release is the Fed rate decision on Wednesday, October 28 at 2:00 pm ET. Much of today's news coverage is about ETF flows and other cryptocurrencies.
Today's numbers
24h change| Bitcoin | $81,520 | −3.50% |
| Nasdaq | 26,120 | −2.18% |
| Ether | $2,395.96 | −3.05% |
| Spot bitcoin ETF flows (Oct 21, Farside) | +$524.8m | 5 days +$997.4m |
| US dollar index | 101.80 | +0.02% |
| Gold | $4,070.60 | −1.91% |
In the news
All headlines →US calendar
Economic calendar →- FOMC
Fed rate decisionWed, Oct 28, 2:00 pm ET
FAQ
Why is bitcoin down today?
Bitcoin is down $2,954 (3.50%) over the past 24 hours, at $81,520. Bitcoin is moving with tech stocks: the Nasdaq is down 2.18%, a sign of broad risk aversion. Other cryptocurrencies are falling too: ether is down 3.1% and solana 2.2%. US spot bitcoin ETFs had net inflows of $524.8m on Wednesday, 3 trading days of inflows in a row (data: Farside Investors). In the wider market the dollar index is +0.02% and the 10-year Treasury yield down 14 basis points; a firmer dollar and higher yields usually weigh on bitcoin. The next major US release is the Fed rate decision on Wednesday, October 28 at 2:00 pm ET. Much of today's news coverage is about ETF flows and other cryptocurrencies.
What usually moves the bitcoin price day to day?
Bitcoin trades around the clock and often moves with technology stocks and the wider appetite for risk. Flows into and out of the US spot bitcoin ETFs, interest-rate expectations and the dollar, regulation news, large holders buying or selling, and forced selling by leveraged traders (liquidations) are the usual drivers of big daily moves.
How is this explanation written?
Automatically, from live data: the bitcoin price and its change, the US dollar index, Treasury yields, stock indices, other cryptocurrencies, the US economic calendar and the topics that come up most in the day's headlines. It says which markets moved together and what usually goes with that. It cannot prove why prices moved, and it is not a forecast or advice.
Written automatically from market data and headlines; it describes what moved together, not proven causes, and is not investment advice. See also: today's move decomposed · economic calendar.