The Bitcoin price fell again on Thursday (29), briefly slipping below $80,000, pressured by comments from the Federal Reserve and a fresh wave of selling in technology stocks. The cryptocurrency broke a two-day recovery as investors weigh the risk of further US interest rate increases and await the financial results of Strategy and Coinbase.

This morning, Bitcoin is down 1.6%, trading at $80,184 over 24 hours. In euros, the world's largest cryptocurrency stood at roughly 72,360 EUR, according to data from Portal do Bitcoin. Ethereum, meanwhile, is down 2.1% at $2,322. XRP is down 3%, Solana is down 2.3% and BNB is down 0.1%.

Selling pressure intensified after the Fed held US interest rates in the 3.75%–4% range, as the market expected, but adopted a tone considered tougher on inflation.

At Wednesday's (28) press conference, the institution's chair, Kevin Warsh, acknowledged progress in controlling prices but stressed that inflation remains elevated, signalling that the central bank may still need to maintain a restrictive monetary policy.

The possibility of a further rate rise in December remains on the radar. ING, for instance, still expects the Fed to raise rates again at its next meeting.

For Bitcoin, the backdrop is unfavourable because higher interest rates tend to increase the appeal of US government bonds and reduce investors' willingness to take on risk in assets such as equities and cryptocurrencies.

The Fed's decision had already been priced in, but the subsequent remarks reinforced investor caution, as markets also track the earnings season for major technology companies.

Samsung and Google weigh on stock markets and Bitcoin

Beyond concerns over interest rates, the cryptocurrency market was hit by a fresh round of losses in technology stocks, particularly companies linked to artificial intelligence.

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics shares fell more than 5% at one point after the release of its third-quarter results.

Although the semiconductor division posted an operating profit of 106.5 trillion won, roughly 15 times higher than in the same period last year, the figure fell short of the 108.5 trillion won average analyst estimate.

Samsung also announced plans to invest approximately $63 billion this year, an increase of around 60%, reinforcing investor concerns about heavy spending by technology companies.

The result weighed on the South Korean stock market, with the Kospi index falling more than 2%. In the United States, Nasdaq futures were down roughly 1.4%.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, also disappointed investors by reporting quarterly results below expectations on some metrics. The company's shares fell as much as 7% in after-hours trading in the United States.

The move marks a reversal from Wednesday, when investors had lifted Asian stock markets after positive results from chipmakers, helping Bitcoin recover above $81,000.

The fresh sell-off also caused significant losses among leveraged traders in the crypto market.

Approximately $356 million in cryptocurrency futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, of which $205 million were bets on rising prices. Bitcoin accounted for $94 million in liquidations, while Ethereum recorded approximately $72 million.

Such liquidations occur when the price moves against a leveraged investor's position, triggering the automatic closure of the trade.

Strategy reports earnings

Another key event for the market on Thursday will be the release of financial results from Strategy, Michael Saylor's company, which holds the largest corporate Bitcoin reserve in the world.

According to data presented to the market on 26 October, the company holds 848,517 bitcoins, acquired at an average price of $75,446 per unit.

With Bitcoin trading near $80,000, the reserve is valued at approximately $68 billion, while the company's cumulative investment stands at roughly $64 billion.

That means the gain on the bitcoins held by Strategy is now close to just 6% above its average purchase price, a much narrower margin than when the cryptocurrency was trading above $100,000.

The decline is notable because the company uses various financial instruments to fund its Bitcoin purchases.

However, the fact that the price is approaching the average acquisition cost does not mean Strategy will be forced to sell its reserves. The metric serves as a reference for gauging the company's unrealised gains, not as an automatic liquidation threshold.

Strategy also did not purchase any new bitcoins in the week ending 25 October. Instead, it directed funds toward repurchasing STRC preferred shares.

Another figure being tracked by investors concerns US spot Bitcoin ETFs.

According to Glassnode, the average acquisition price for investors in these funds is close to $81,500, above the cryptocurrency's current price. This indicates that, in aggregate, these investors are close to an unrealised loss.

Besides Strategy, Coinbase is also due to release its financial results on Thursday, offering fresh data on trading volumes and investor activity in the cryptocurrency market.

With Bitcoin once again close to $80,000, investors will be watching both corporate earnings and the reaction of US stock markets, as well as the Fed's next signals, to gauge whether the cryptocurrency can resume its recovery or remain under pressure in the coming days.

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