Bitcoin posted a small recovery on Friday as yields on U.S. Treasuries and crude oil prices pulled back, offering risk-sensitive assets some relief. By 09:51 ET (13:51 GMT), Bitcoin had risen about 2% to $81,842.1. The token had briefly slipped under $80,000 in the prior session before buyers stepped in to pick up discounted positions.
Despite the intraday uptick, Bitcoin remained set for a second consecutive week of losses. Over the course of this week the world's largest cryptocurrency was trading down roughly 2%, and it has declined by more than 2% so far in October, meaning the historical October strength often tagged as "uptober" has not materialized for a second year running.
Market participants pointed to several concurrent headwinds weighing on the market. Rising U.S. Treasury yields and climbing oil prices have pressured risk assets, and crypto has also seen renewed capital outflows from its spot exchange-traded funds. Those dynamics contributed to profit-taking after Bitcoin's strong run in the second quarter.
Macro and market drivers
Broader crypto prices climbed on Friday alongside Bitcoin, helped by two straight days of notable declines in U.S. Treasury yields. Even so, markets still broadly priced in the possibility the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again this year, a stance that keeps pressure on speculative asset classes.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs were registering net redemptions for a second week, with SoSoValue data showing around $146.2 million in outflows so far this week. In addition, a severe selloff in high-flying technology and artificial intelligence equities spilled over into crypto trading, exacerbating selling pressure as those sectors stood to be hurt by higher U.S. rates.
Altcoins and market breadth
Cryptocurrency markets broadly recovered some ground on Friday but were still tracking for weekly declines. Ether increased 4.7% to $2,450.72, although it remained nearly 3% lower on the week. XRP advanced 3.2%, while Solana and Cardano climbed 3.7% and 4.3%, respectively, on Friday; each of those tokens was down between 5% and 10% on the week. BNB rose 1.5% on the day. Among memecoins, Dogecoin and $TRUMP each gained more than 3% on Friday.
Company and index developments
Shares of Strategy fell 5% in early U.S. trading on Friday after MSCI announced it will adopt a new methodology that could result in the company's exclusion from its indexes. The new rules, which take effect with the November index review, will assess companies using screens tied to operating assets and five financial ratios. The framework replaces interim restrictions that had focused on firms whose digital asset holdings made up at least 50% of total assets.
MSCI said buffers will apply to the eligibility thresholds of the financial ratios and to the timing of index inclusion and removal in order to reduce turnover. Companies not currently included in MSCI indexes will be barred from addition if they fail the eligibility screen in either of their two most recent annual filing periods. Existing constituents will only be removed if they fail the screen in both of their two most recent annual filing periods. MSCI added it may consider the latest interim filing where one is available.
Market context left open
Several pieces of information in the market narrative were described without conclusive outcomes. For instance, although yields declined over two days and oil prices eased, markets still largely retained bets on further Fed rate increases this year. The report also noted that technology and AI stock weakness spilled into crypto, and that hot inflation prints for September had reinforced bets on higher rates, but it did not link those elements to a specific, singular market outcome beyond elevated downside pressure for speculative assets.
Vahid Karaahmetovic contributed to this report.