Bitcoin Drops Below $83,000 as Oil Surge, Yields Spike Trigger $714 Million in Crypto Liquidations

Bitcoin tumbled below $83,000 on Thursday, extending losses as a surge in oil prices and rising bond yields rippled through risk assets, triggering a wave of forced selling in cryptocurrency markets.

The largest cryptocurrency fell 1.6% to just under $82,800 during Asian trading hours, according to CoinDesk data, after opening the day near $85,544. It briefly recovered above $83,000. The move confirmed a breakdown of the $83,000 level that analysts at FxPro said would put the next target at $80,000.

Ether lost 3% to around $2,570, while XRP dropped nearly 4% to $1.42, leading losses among major tokens. Dogecoin slid 3% and Solana fell more than 2%, according to CoinDesk. BNB and TRX were the only gainers among large-cap coins, each up less than 1%.

The selling pressure cascaded into leveraged derivatives markets. CoinGlass data showed $714.47 million in crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with 124,276 traders forced out. That followed $547 million in liquidations the prior day. The largest single liquidation order was a $26.64 million ETHUSDC position on Binance, according to CoinGlass.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell back to $2.9 trillion, erasing more than $100 billion in value over 24 hours, as reported by The Economic Times.

**Oil Jolts on Iran Strike Report**

The catalyst for the broader risk-off move was a sharp jump in crude oil. Brent crude rose above $101 a barrel after a report that the White House asked the Pentagon to draw up strike options against Iran that could be executed before November. According to ZeroHedge, a tanker was also hit off Qatar in the first strike deep inside the Persian Gulf in about a month, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh's airport.

Additional supply pressures came from Hurricane Isaias, which forced U.S. Gulf producers to shut in wells, and ongoing attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by multiple outlets. Brent briefly topped $105 a barrel before settling.

**Treasury Yields Climb**

The oil spike pushed the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to around 5.35%, its highest level in over two decades, according to multiple sources. The 30-year yield reached 5.70%, a level not seen since 2002, The Economic Times reported. The dollar index edged up to 102.50, its strongest since March 2025.

Higher oil prices stoked inflation concerns, putting pressure on long-dated bonds. The selloff was broad, with UK and German 10-year yields also rising 4-5 basis points.

**Stocks and Gold Slip**

Equity markets retreated from recent records. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.7%, according to The Economic Times. Asian shares declined 1% following Wall Street's decline, CoinDesk reported. Gold fell 1.5% to $4,123 an ounce, while silver lost 1.4%.

**Fed Minutes in Focus**

Traders were watching for the release of the Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes later on Wednesday. The Fed raised rates by a quarter point at that meeting, and investors are looking for signals on the path ahead after weaker jobs data reduced the likelihood of another increase this month.

**Outlook**

The drop below $83,000 marks a key technical breakdown. FxPro said Tuesday that a break of that level would confirm sellers had taken control and could send bitcoin to $80,000 "fairly quickly." Bitcoin's two prior losing days also coincided with oil climbing and yields rising, suggesting the correlation between crypto and macro pressures remains tight. Analysts noted that a drop in Brent back below $100 would relieve headwinds for digital assets.