Why Bitcoin moves
Bitcoin edged up slightly without a company-news explanation.
Written after the close on ·
Why today
16,307 news analyzed todayBitcoin edged up slightly without a company-news explanation.
Bitcoin is not a company, so the move comes from the wider crypto market, and it was roughly flat while the S&P 500 rose slightly.
Over the last five trading days Bitcoin fell clearly, moving in line with a sharp US stock market drop driven by worries about the AI trade.
Crypto sentiment was also weighed down by the Binance hack, uncertainty over the Clarity Act after the Democratic midterm win, and rising odds of a December Fed rate hike.
Trading volume was about twice its usual level, so the stall came amid heavy activity.
Today's move of +0.04% was 0.1 times a normal day's 0.8%. S&P 500 moved +0.31% on the same day.
Bitcoin +0.04%S&P 500 +0.31%In step with the market
What followed similar falls?
Including reinvested dividends, Bitcoin fell 3.2% over the latest five trading days. Since November 5, 2016, falls at least this large were followed by a higher value 21 trading days later in 69 out of 119 non-overlapping periods. The median was +1.3%, against +1.7% for an ordinary 21-day period, which ended higher 55 times in 100.
Such a fall has not said much about the next month.
+1.3% · 69/119
Earlier days
−2.91% market −2.70% Bitcoin fell clearly over the week, moving roughly in line with a sharp drop in the US stock market. Read →
Bitcoin fell clearly over the week, moving roughly in line with a sharp drop in the US stock market.
The main driver was a selloff in AI and technology stocks, which spread into crypto and forced out leveraged traders, with the Nasdaq falling 5.5% on November 5.
Bitcoin ETFs also saw large outflows, while the post-election rally faded quickly.
Ongoing worries about AI spending and the Democratic win in Congress likely kept pressure on crypto sentiment.
−5.42% market −4.41% Bitcoin fell very sharply. Read →
Bitcoin fell very sharply.
Bitcoin fell on Nov. 5 with no separate news, but the broader selloff was the cause.
Bitcoin fell very sharply in the last session, moving in line with the S&P 500, which also fell very sharply.
Bitcoin's move was very big for it, about five times a normal day, and trading was well above its usual level.
The likely driver was a tech and AI stock selloff that spilled into crypto, as technology stocks such as chipmakers weakened and leveraged traders were forced out of positions.
+3.96% market +1.65% Bitcoin surged on election-related relief and a broad market rally. Read →
Bitcoin surged on election-related relief and a broad market rally.
Bitcoin rose very sharply in the last session, moving well ahead of the S&P 500, which also rose sharply.
The likely driver was the end of the US midterm elections, which eased political uncertainty that had weighed on risk assets.
Lower oil prices and easing Treasury yields also supported risk appetite, and Strategy's further bitcoin purchases added sentiment support.
Trading volume was about twice a normal session, so the move came with heavy activity.
+1.13% market +0.30% Bitcoin rose, moving more than the S&P 500, which rose slightly. Read →
Bitcoin rose, moving more than the S&P 500, which rose slightly.
Over the last five trading days Bitcoin was roughly unchanged, while the S&P 500 fell clearly, so Bitcoin held up better than the market.
The last session's rise is not tied to a single company event.
Reports of Bitcoin reclaiming the $78,000 level, with Ethereum and other altcoins rallying alongside, likely reflected a broader rebound in crypto prices.
Earlier that day, news of heavy outflows from Bitcoin ETFs and Treasury yields falling together pointed to mixed sentiment, which makes a sharp rise less expected and suggests short-term buying interest.
−1.97% market −0.48% Bitcoin fell clearly, and without a company-news explanation. Read →
Bitcoin fell clearly, and without a company-news explanation.
Bitcoin moved more than the S&P 500, which fell only slightly over the same day.
The wider crypto market was under pressure as Binance, a large crypto exchange, reopened withdrawals after a $6.3 billion security breach, which triggered heavy customer outflows and worries about confidence.
Over the last five trading days Bitcoin fell sharply, a big move for it, along with a falling S&P 500.
Trading volume was around its usual level.
−1.30% market −1.77% Bitcoin fell after a hack at the Binance exchange shook crypto investors. Read →
Bitcoin fell after a hack at the Binance exchange shook crypto investors.
Bitcoin fell clearly in the last session, moving in line with a sharp drop in the S&P 500 as tech stocks slid.
Binance lost about $6.4 billion in the hack, the largest crypto theft on record, which spooked holders.
Over the last five trading days Bitcoin fell clearly, a bigger move than the broader market's slight decline.
The latest close is well below last year's high in early November, but well above its low in late June.
−4.07% market −0.56% Bitcoin fell clearly over the week, moving more than the broader market, which fell only slightly. Read →
Bitcoin fell clearly over the week, moving more than the broader market, which fell only slightly.
The biggest driver was the Binance hack, a theft of about $6.3 billion in crypto from the large exchange Binance, reported late on Wednesday, 29 October, which spooked investors.
Heavy trading, about twice its usual level, shows the selling was intense.
Bitcoin also fell alongside tech stocks that day after weak earnings from Amazon and Intel, which likely added pressure.
−0.56% market −0.38% Bitcoin fell, moving in line with the broader market, which also dipped. Read →
Bitcoin fell, moving in line with the broader market, which also dipped.
Over the last five trading days, Bitcoin was roughly unchanged while the S&P 500 rose clearly, so Bitcoin lagged the market.
The move was an ordinary one for Bitcoin, well within its usual daily swings, and trading volume was around normal.
Analysts such as Galaxy's Alex Thorn argued that Bitcoin held steady partly because hedge funds and trading desks had already pared their spot bitcoin ETF holdings before the recent worry over AI stocks.
Strategy's record quarterly operating income, which came from a paper gain on its bitcoin holdings, was published after the session closed and is not a cause of that day's move.
+0.56% market +0.34% Bitcoin rose, a move that was an ordinary day for Bitcoin. Read →
Bitcoin rose, a move that was an ordinary day for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin moved more than the S&P 500, which also rose slightly.
Over the last five trading days, Bitcoin was roughly unchanged while the S&P 500 rose clearly, so Bitcoin lagged the market.
Traders are likely weighing the Federal Reserve's rate decision, inflation data and oil prices, which have pulled Bitcoin in different directions.
Bitcoin's price is well below its high of the past year and well above its low.
+0.66% market +0.56% Bitcoin rose, in line with a clearly rising S&P 500. Read →
Bitcoin rose, in line with a clearly rising S&P 500.
Bitcoin's move was an ordinary one, smaller than a normal day for it, and no company news explains it.
Over the last five trading days, Bitcoin edged down while the S&P 500 edged up, so it lagged the market.
The most likely drivers are doubts about AI spending and caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision.
Strategy, a large Bitcoin holder, paused its buying, which likely weighed on sentiment.
−0.02% market +0.71% Bitcoin was roughly unchanged. Read →
Bitcoin was roughly unchanged.
The last session was an ordinary day for Bitcoin, with no company news explaining a move.
Over the last five trading days Bitcoin fell clearly, a big move for it, while the S&P 500 fell only slightly.
Several items point to the wider crypto market: the Federal Reserve's rate decision due Wednesday, expected to hold rates at 3.75% to 4%, and oil prices near $100 that have weighed on risk assets.
Bitcoin ETF flows (money going into or out of funds that hold bitcoin) also shifted, but those flows often follow recent price moves rather than predict them.