Bitcoin Slides Under $80,000 for a Fourth Straight Session

Bitcoin dropped below $80,000 on September 10, extending its losing streak to four sessions. The largest cryptocurrency by market value traded in a $76,000 to $78,500 range through the day and hit an intraday low around $76,663. At those levels, Bitcoin is about 39% below its October 2025 peak of $126,000 and back in the middle of the trading band that has dominated most of 2026. Since February, prices have largely swung between $60,000 and $80,000, with repeated failures to clear the upper end. Macro pressures weighed on risk appetite. Oil jumped above $105 a barrel as Middle East tensions flared again, while US inflation printed hotter than expected, strengthening the case for another Federal Reserve rate hike. Higher yields tend to sap demand for non-yielding assets like Bitcoin by raising the appeal of income-producing, lower-risk alternatives. Technically, $80,000 has acted as a firm cap for weeks. Bitcoin saw a clear rejection near $81,500 in late August, and subsequent attempts to break higher have stalled. ETF flows also pointed to softer institutional demand. Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted roughly $166.8 million of outflows over a recent two-day stretch. Derivatives markets amplified the move: forced liquidations across crypto exceeded $386 million over a 24-hour period, as leveraged positions were automatically closed and selling pressure fed on itself. The broader backdrop remains a drawn-out cooldown from the $126,000 high in October 2025, a rally that was fueled by post-halving momentum, optimism around ETF inflows, and a more supportive macro environment at the time. The $60,000 to $80,000 corridor in place since February spans roughly 25%. Investors are now watching the $76,000 area as a key support zone. A decisive break below it could set up a retest of the multi-month floor near $60,000, implying another 20%+ downside from current levels. ETF flow trends will also be in focus; the recent $166.8 million outflow is notable, though still modest relative to the billions held by these products.