Updated: September 24, 2026 | PickNexo

The immediate pressure is coming from traditional markets. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.1%, its highest level since 2007, as strong business data, rising oil prices and weak demand for government debt increased expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate hikes.
The selloff has also exposed leveraged traders. Approximately US$116 million in crypto positions were liquidated within one hour during Bitcoin's decline below US$83,000, with long positions accounting for nearly 98% of that total.
Bitcoin traded near US$83,300 during Thursday's session, giving back part of the gains that took it to approximately US$87,300. BTC opened about 2.1% below Wednesday's level and continued weakening as U.S. markets approached their opening.

The US$82,000 to US$83,000 region is now an important support zone. If buyers defend it, the current move may remain a normal consolidation after a fast rally. A sustained break below US$82,000 would increase the risk of a return toward US$80,000.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield reached approximately 5.13% intraday, its highest level in nearly two decades. The move followed stronger business activity, higher oil prices and a poorly received five-year Treasury note auction.

Markets are also pricing a greater chance of additional Federal Reserve tightening. Yahoo Finance cited CME FedWatch probabilities of approximately 75% for an October rate increase and nearly 59% for another increase in December. These expectations can change quickly, but they show why crypto is reacting to every new inflation and growth signal.
Bitcoin's move below US$83,000 triggered approximately US$116 million in liquidations across the crypto market within one hour. Long positions represented roughly US$113 million, or almost 98%, of the total.

Bitcoin futures open interest fell faster than the underlying price, with CoinDesk reporting a 6% decline in open interest against a roughly 3% price drop over 24 hours. That suggests some leverage is leaving the market rather than the selloff being driven entirely by spot holders.
Bitcoin is approaching a large options expiry on September 25, with estimates placing the notional value at approximately US$14 billion to US$16 billion. Dealer hedging around large strike concentrations may be helping suppress volatility before the contracts expire.

Investors should therefore expect the market structure to change after Friday's settlement. Bitcoin's reaction around US$82,000, US$85,000 and the recent US$87,000 high may reveal whether buyers are prepared to defend the breakout without support from derivatives positioning.
Institutional demand has remained more resilient than prices. Market trackers reported net additions equivalent to approximately 8,250 BTC on September 23, while spot Ether ETFs recorded modest positive inflows.

The divergence between positive ETF demand and falling prices is worth watching. It suggests that the current decline is being driven partly by macro conditions and leveraged positioning rather than a complete withdrawal of institutional interest. Continued inflows could help stabilize Bitcoin near support.
StarkWare said optimization work reduced the estimated computing cost of preparing a quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction by 79% in one week. The estimated GPU cost fell from roughly US$320 to below US$67.

The cheaper figure remains an estimate produced through optimization rather than evidence that quantum computers can currently break Bitcoin. The work is best understood as contingency planning for a future cryptographic threat, not a response to an immediate attack.
European financial supervisors have also highlighted the long-term threat quantum computing could pose to encryption used in financial systems and distributed ledgers.

Financial institutions and blockchain developers will need migration plans for post-quantum cryptography. The difficult part is not only designing secure algorithms but also updating wallets, custody systems, hardware devices and network rules without disrupting users.
IBM has added beta connectivity between Digital Asset Haven and Swift's blockchain-based shared ledger. The integration is designed to let financial institutions instruct tokenized-deposit transactions using standard ISO 20022 payment messages.

IBM is also introducing an on-premises beta option for Digital Asset Haven. Banks and governments can manage digital assets within their own data centers instead of depending entirely on public cloud infrastructure, which may help address security, sovereignty and regulatory requirements.
Hot wallets associated with Duelbits experienced suspicious outflows across Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and TRON. Scam Sniffer estimated that approximately US$4.2 million in assets moved to newly created addresses, possibly following a private-key compromise.

The suspected cause had not been conclusively established at the time of reporting. Users should wait for a formal incident review before treating early blockchain-security alerts as final findings.
A Brooklyn man received a prison sentence of up to 12 years for participating in a US$16 million social-engineering scheme targeting Coinbase users, according to The Block.

Investors should independently open official apps or websites instead of following links sent through messages. Legitimate support teams should never request wallet seed phrases or ask users to transfer funds into a supposed security account.
The first signal is Bitcoin's US$82,000 to US$83,000 support zone. A successful defense could allow the market to consolidate, while a break may bring US$80,000 back into focus.

The third signal is Friday's Bitcoin options expiry. Changes in dealer hedging may produce larger price moves after the contracts settle.
The fourth signal is ETF demand. Continued institutional inflows would support the argument that the decline is a correction rather than a broader reversal.
The fifth signal is leverage. Lower futures open interest is healthy if excessive positions are being removed, but another wave of long liquidations could deepen the pullback.
Crypto markets are giving back part of their recent rally as higher Treasury yields and renewed rate-hike expectations reduce demand for risk assets. Bitcoin has fallen toward US$83,000, Ether is near US$2,640, and speculative altcoins are seeing larger losses.
The pullback is being amplified by long liquidations, but ETF demand remains comparatively strong. That combination suggests the market is dealing with macroeconomic pressure and excessive leverage rather than a complete disappearance of institutional interest.
Away from prices, long-term infrastructure continues to advance. Quantum-resistant Bitcoin research is becoming cheaper, IBM is connecting banks to Swift's tokenized-deposit ledger, and financial regulators are preparing for future cryptographic risks. The short-term market is fragile, but development across security and institutional payments remains active.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice.
Sources: CoinDesk, CoinDesk - Market Selloff, Yahoo Finance, Cointelegraph, StarkWare, IBM, Swift, The Block, KuCoin News.