Bitcoin slipped back below $80,000 on Thursday as a technology-led sell-off spread through Asian markets, while in Israel the counting of absentee ballots began with no political bloc yet close to a governing majority. Here is the latest from the day's top stories.
Bitcoin falls back below $80,000 as tech shares slide
Bitcoin dropped back below $80,000 on Thursday, with live market data putting it at about $79,870, down 1.43% on the day, after opening near $81,031. CoinDesk reported a fall from above $81,700 to around $79,800 during the Asian session, with about $356 million in crypto long positions liquidated over 24 hours.
The sell-off was driven by a tech-led risk-off mood: Samsung fell more than 5% after its chip unit missed estimates, South Korea's Kospi dropped more than 2%, and Nasdaq futures were down about 1.4%. Ethereum traded at roughly $2,303 to $2,311, down around 2% on the day.
Israel's absentee count begins, with no bloc near a majority
Counting of absentee ballots began in Israel on Thursday, with the seat split still standing at 53 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc, 48 for Gadi Eisenkot's bloc, and 19 for the Arab parties — leaving no bloc near the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
In a new development, Arab parties signalled readiness to cooperate with Eisenkot's bloc to form an alternative government and oust Netanyahu. Separately, Election Committee chairman Sohlberg urged Shin Bet chief Zini to investigate alleged "hostile" foreign funding and vote-buying claims in Arab communities; the credibility of those claims has not been assessed.
Exchange watch: no new delisting announcements
No new spot exchange delisting announcements emerged in the latest check. Traders should still note a busy deadline day tomorrow, October 30: Binance removes 12 spot pairs and 10 margin pairs, Coinbase converts 14 restricted assets for EEA retail users, and Balancer pools move to withdrawal-only.
Other tracked deadlines remain in place, including Kraken's 13-token withdrawal phase running to January 29, 2027, and Brazil's exchange licence filing deadline on October 30. Earlier removals, including EPIC and QUICK, have already been executed.
Trade watch: no new general tariff moves
No new general China–US or China–UK tariff moves were found in the latest check. The one live item on the trade calendar is the US Trade Representative's shipping-fee suspension, for which public comments are due tomorrow, October 30.
That suspension, if extended, would keep Section 301 fees on Chinese-linked vessels on hold — a point of direct shipping-cost relevance for businesses sourcing goods from China.
Market snapshot
Bitcoin traded at about $79,870, down 1.43%, with Ethereum at roughly $2,303 to $2,311. Oil eased on Thursday, with Brent at about $114.06 to $114.48 and WTI at about $101.44 to $101.94, against Wednesday's closes of $115.32 and $102.78, as hopes for diplomatic progress continued to weigh on prices.
Looking ahead, US GDP and PCE inflation data are due today, October 29, at 17:30 PKT. Tomorrow brings the Coinbase and Binance deadlines noted above, followed by the US midterm elections on November 3 and Israel's final election results on November 4.
Sources
- Bitcoin and Ethereum prices and liquidation data: Finnhub live market data and CoinDesk, October 29.
- Ethereum price cross-check: APA, October 29.
- Israel election count and Arab-party cooperation signals: Times Now live coverage, Haaretz, and Gulf News, October 29.
- Oil prices and peace-talks driver: Reuters reporting carried in the October 29 market data.
- Exchange and trade deadlines: tracked exchange announcements and US Trade Representative notices as previously reported.
