Bitcoin slips below $80,000 in a weekend selloff as the Fed decision looms
The largest cryptocurrency hit its lowest level in more than a month before a partial Sunday bounce.
Bitcoin fell below $80,000 over the weekend for the first time in more than a month, touching $79,146 on Saturday as leveraged traders absorbed hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidations. It traded around $80,000 to $81,000 on Sunday afternoon.
The slide leaves bitcoin at levels last seen in mid-September, as investors pulled back from riskier assets while oil climbed to a six-month high on the Middle East escalation. The weekend selling gathered pace after the U.S. ordered non-essential staff out of Saudi Arabia (see our oil story).
Attention now turns to Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision, where a hold is the base case (see our story on the jump in October hike odds). Interest rates staying higher for longer tends to weigh on speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
