Bitcoin Extends Losses Below $109K as Global Equities Slide on Cautious Sentiment

Bitcoin extended its decline on Friday, slipping below $109,000 as a fresh wave of risk aversion gripped global ￰1￱ drop came as global markets turned defensive, with equities slipping, bonds gaining and gold reaching a fresh ￰2￱ last traded 2.4% lower on the day around $108,503, and is down over 10% in the last ￰3￱ stocks mirrored Wall Street’s overnight losses, with investors retreating from risk assets after signs of credit strain resurfaced among US regional ￰4￱ in equities also took a hit from rising trade tensions between the US and ￰5￱ on Thursday accused Washington of stoking panic over its rare earth export controls and rejected a White House call to roll back the curbs, rattling already fragile market ￰6￱ Struggle as Market Pressure Builds on Weaker Momentum Bitcoin, which recently hit a record high of $126k on Oct. 6, has struggled to find a footing since last week’s sharp ￰7￱ downturn was triggered by a wave of liquidations exceeding $19b, compounded by jitters over US–China trade ￰8￱ selloff swept across major tokens, leaving investors wary of further ￰9￱ has declined to ~$111K, dropping 11.8% since its $125.8K all-time high 9 days ￰10￱ Trump's temporary tariff threats acting as a catalyst, gold has thrived, while equities ￰11￱ can be argued $BTC 's drop is still in "overreaction" range. ￰0￱ ￰12￱ — Santiment (@santimentfeed) October 15, 2025 Ether dropped 2.2% to $3,931, while XRP slipped 2.7% to $2.36.

Market watchers said momentum in altcoins remained weak as traders reduced exposure ahead of potential regulatory and macroeconomic ￰13￱ Lee, chief analyst at Bitget, said XRP is facing near-term pressure due to whale transfers and exchange inflows. “Key support is forming between $2.10 and $2.30,” he said. “A breakout toward $3.00–$3.25 remains possible if ETF approvals materialize by late October, which would likely trigger renewed institutional inflows.” He added that Ripple’s recent $1b acquisition of GTreasury enhances XRP’s position in corporate finance, expanding its utility for settlements beyond speculative ￰14￱ Rotates Toward Utility Tokens as Solana Leads Market Recovery In contrast, Solana is showing stronger momentum, Lee said, targeting a range between $210 and $250.

Growth in DeFi activity and optimism around potential ETF approvals continue to support its performance. “Both assets are benefiting from a broader capital rotation into utility-driven tokens,” he said, noting that investors are focusing more on blockchain projects with real-world applications. Meanwhile, concerns in traditional markets have added to the cautious ￰15￱ collapses of First Brands Group and Tricolor Holdings revived fears of hidden credit losses, while accounting write-downs tied to fraud at Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance wiped out more than $100b in US banking market value in a single ￰16￱ credit worries mounting, gold and silver extended their rallies to fresh highs.

Bitcoin, often touted as digital gold, has yet to follow suit, falling 6.3% over the past week, its sharpest drop since ￰17￱ Bitcoin Matures, Its Price Action Mirrors Traditional Markets More Closely Dom Harz, co-founder of BOB, said Bitcoin’s growing integration with mainstream finance could explain its closer alignment with broader ￰18￱ added that institutional adoption will accelerate innovation in Bitcoin-based decentralized finance. “These institutions holding BTC will want to unlock Bitcoin’s utility and put their assets to work by securely deploying BTC natively into DeFi protocols,” he ￰19￱ now, Bitcoin’s ability to hold above the $110,000 threshold will likely depend on macroeconomic ￰20￱ remain cautious, watching for signals from the US Federal Reserve on interest rates and how trade tensions might influence risk appetite heading into the final quarter of the year.