Bitcoin risks worst October in 12 years as tech sell-off spreads to gold

Bitcoin ($BTC) stayed under pressure below $80,000 at Friday’s Wall Street open as AI fears returned to intensify a broader risk-asset rout.

Key points:

Bitcoin struggled to hold around $77,000 as risk assets fell across the board at the US open.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell to 25,500, its lowest levels since early August, while gold dropped to $3,891 per ounce for the first time since October 2025.
$BTC/USD risked sealing October losses or 7.7%, the most since 2014.

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Tech contagion ramps up as Nasdaq drops 2.5%

Data from TradingView showed $BTC/USD down 1.1% on the day after dropping to its lowest levels since Sept. 18.

$BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US stock markets opened sharply lower as traders reacted to weak forward guidance from tech giants. Intel, which on Thursday warned of weaker Q4 sales than markets had anticipated, saw its stock price drop by nearly 30% on Friday’s open.

The sell-off weighed on both tech giants and chipmakers, with analysis warning of fresh challenges to AI-sector confidence.

“With renewed fears over AI Monetization, the Equity rotation is likely to continue today but the broader indices will reflect Tech’s downside,” JPMorgan wrote in a note, quoted by CNBC.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was 2.5% lower at the time of writing at around 25,500, a level last seen on Aug. 3.

Nasdaq Composite Index one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Beyond stocks, contagion spread to precious metals, with gold trading as low as $3,891 per ounce, its weakest in a year.

XAU/USD one-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin on track for weakest October since 2014

Crypto markets continued to deal with the aftermath of a multi-billion dollar hack of Binance, the largest crypto exchange.

Related: Will gold’s ‘infinite mint bug’ make Bitcoin more valuable?

The platform said that it would cover the losses with its own capital after the theft of $6.3 billion in coins and tokens. A spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Binance had $5 billion in matching tokens currently available.

Commenting on the outlook for crypto, trading company QCP Capital warned that macro conditions, tech-sector fears and the Binance hack had “created a period of heightened market repricing.”

“Technology sector earnings guidance regarding future capital expenditure will remain a critical variable for understanding the trajectory of artificial intelligence infrastructure investment and expected profitability,” it summarized in analysis on Friday.

At $77,000, $BTC/USD was set to close the month 7.7% lower — its worst October performance since 2014, per data from CoinGlass.