Bitcoin Breaks Below 50-Day Moving Average
Bitcoin closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since August, ending a roughly two-month period in which dips toward that technical level had been bought. As of October 24, the break coincided with a broad liquidation of leveraged long positions and bitcoin trading around the low-$80,000 range.
The move places renewed attention on whether the 50-day average, which traders had treated as a floor during recent pullbacks, can again serve as a meaningful reference point. The available reports also show that liquidation figures and intraday price lows vary depending on the measurement window and venue.
What happened
Bitcoin.com News reported that bitcoin closed a daily candle below its 50-day moving average, its first such close since August. The outlet said the moving average had operated as a floor for roughly two months, with buyers stepping in when the price approached it.
CoinGabbar put bitcoin near $80,820, down 1.22% or $998.19 over 24 hours. Cointelegraph reported that bitcoin briefly reached $80,988 at the start of Friday US trading before recovering to around $81,600. In that report, the 50-day simple moving average stood at $81,781.
The episode was accompanied by substantial liquidations in crypto derivatives markets. Bitcoin.com News said $318 million in long bets were wiped out in a single day. CryptoCompass reported that about 178,645 traders lost $467.67 million over 24 hours, including $318.78 million in long liquidations and $148.90 million in short liquidations. It said Binance accounted for 49% of that total.
Those figures should not be read as a single directly comparable tally. CryptoCompass reported market-wide liquidations over one 24-hour period, while CoinDesk had previously reported about $431 million liquidated over 24 hours during a separate sharp move from nearly $85,000 to about $81,800. CoinDesk said that earlier move included roughly $173 million in short liquidations during the rise and $210 million of $222 million in long liquidations during the decline.
Why it matters
The importance of the move lies less in one intraday print than in the daily close below a level widely followed by market participants. A moving average is a reference line based on prior prices, and the 50-day measure had been associated with buying interest through the preceding roughly two months.
When price closes below a level that had repeatedly held during earlier declines, it changes the immediate technical picture traders are watching. The close does not itself establish how long bitcoin will remain on either side of the average, but it removes the recent pattern in which approaches to the line were met with purchases.
The liquidation data also show how quickly leveraged positioning can amplify a price decline. Long positions are positioned for prices to rise, so their forced closure during a fall can add selling pressure. The reported $318 million figure for long bets from Bitcoin.com News and the $318.78 million figure from CryptoCompass reflect closely related but not identical reporting windows and methodologies.
Cointelegraph’s report also illustrates why intraday price descriptions should be treated carefully. It recorded a low of $80,988 before a recovery toward $81,600, while CoinGabbar cited bitcoin near $80,820. Differences in exchange pricing and observation times can produce different lows without changing the broader account of pressure around the 50-day average.
Background and context
For roughly two months, bitcoin’s 50-day average had acted as support, meaning price dips toward the measure were bought. The daily close below that level therefore marks a change in the short-term momentum pattern that market participants had been tracking.
The break occurred during a risk-off move that included Brent crude at $116 per barrel and lower US stocks. Bitcoin was trading around an area between $80,000 and $81,500 identified as the aggregate cost basis for spot Bitcoin ETF investors, adding another closely watched reference zone around the decline.
Broader market headlines have also included geopolitical messaging from President Donald Trump. CoinDesk reported that Trump said on Truth Social that the US would not attack Iran prior to the midterm elections, while bitcoin was lower by 2.55% at $81,250. That report establishes the timing of the statement and the market move it described, but it does not establish that the statement caused bitcoin’s subsequent break below the 50-day average.
The recent price action has not been one-directional. CoinDesk described a $3,000 round trip from nearly $85,000 to about $81,800 in under a day, during which traders on both the long and short sides were liquidated. That sequence underscores the extent to which rapid swings can affect derivatives positions on either side of the market.
What to watch
The first open question is how bitcoin behaves around the 50-day simple moving average near $81,781 cited by Cointelegraph. Market participants will be able to assess whether the line continues to function as a reference level after the daily close below it.
Another question is whether trading remains concentrated around the $80,000 to $81,500 area associated with the aggregate cost basis for spot Bitcoin ETF investors. The reports do not establish how investors at that cost basis will behave, but the range is part of the current market context.
It will also be important to distinguish among liquidation reports. Total liquidations, the share attributable to longs or shorts, the exchanges included and the precise 24-hour period can all differ across reports. In a fast-moving market, those distinctions matter when interpreting the scale and direction of forced position closures.
