Bitcoin Falls as Treasury Yields Find Fresh 24-Year High — 2nd Update

By Kirk Maltais

Bitcoin briefly fell below $83,000 as market sentiment turned risk-off in the face of Treasury yields finding new multidecade highs.

The bond selloff dominating markets since last month picked up steam again Wednesday, bringing the 10-year Treasury yield to an intraday high of 5.361% and the 30-year yield to 5.730% - both their highest since 2002. The resumption of pressure on long-dated Treasurys made investors keen on avoiding riskier assets like cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin dropped 2.7% to $83,336, while other major cryptocurrencies took a bigger drubbing throughout, with ethereum down 5.2% to $2,559 and XRP dropping 5.5% to $1.42.

"Bitcoin was already due for a retracement, and BTC has now fallen below support at $84,000," analysts with Bitfinex said.

The new highs in Treasury yields were only one catalyst for the selling, with spot volumes of cryptocurrencies in general seen as light, making it easier for bigger price moves to take hold, analysts said.

"The move was then amplified by crypto-specific positioning," explains Lacie Zhang, a research analyst with Bitget Wallet. "Bitcoin had failed to hold above roughly $87,000, leaving the market vulnerable after leveraged long positions accumulated. Once BTC broke below $84,000, forced selling accelerated."

Cryptocurrencies were little-affected by the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from its September meeting Wednesday afternoon. The minutes showed that while all 19 members of the board supported last month's rate hike, the board didn't see urgency for a rate hike in October.

The CME Group's FedWatch currently puts the odds of rates being unchanged after this month's meeting at 81%, with a 19% chance of a quarter-point hike.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite fell Wednesday after surging to record highs the prior day.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2026 14:55 ET (18:55 GMT)