Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Trades Above $81,500 as Fed Keeps Rates Steady in Split Vote

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged Wednesday, holding the federal funds target range at 3.75% to 4%. The bitcoin price showed some volatility around $81,000.

The decision passed 10-2, and the dissents carry as much weight as the outcome. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack wanted a quarter-point increase. It is the first time since 1992 that a Fed governor and a regional bank president have dissented together on the same side.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh faced reporters after the vote and said politics played no role in the decision, days before the midterm elections. Warsh has said he does not favor forward guidance absent a crisis, which leaves investors to read the data themselves. 

The committee’s statement dropped its earlier language about when a hike might support a return to 2% inflation. In its place is a line saying more information will guide the policy stance. The Fed also described growth as strong, up from solid.

The signal points toward tightening. Fed funds futures and the Fed’s own dot plot lean toward a rate increase by December, and some pricing puts the odds near three in four. Inflation has been running hot, and the two dissenters are the officials who want to act on it.

Bitcoin price reaction

Bitcoin price’s reaction was restrained. The bitcoin price spiked to about $81,700 in the minutes after the announcement, fell below $80,500, and then recovered toward $81,000. Most traders expected a hold, so the muted move surprises nobody.

Bitcoin’s first response to Fed news tends to be modest, and that the real direction often emerges over the following day. Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $110 million in net inflows on October 26 and $176 million on October 27, a sign that some institutional money is buying the dip. Other observers have flagged large holders selling into strength.

That tension defines crypto’s position right now. Bitcoin sits about a third below its October 2025 record near $126,000. A rate-hike path works against an asset that has thrived on cheap money, and the market has spent months adjusting to the possibility that the easy-money era is over. 

Some traders read the hold as evidence the Fed will move slowly. Others see December as the real test. For now, the level to watch is a bitcoin price of $80,000. It has held as support in recent sessions, and a clean break below it would expose the next floor. 

Warsh and his colleagues have said they will wait for incoming data before acting. Bitcoin will have to wait along with everyone else.

Midterms up next

Bitcoin’s next big political test arrives on November 3, when voters across the country head to the polls. Crypto has not really dominated the campaign trail. 

The crypto industry spent about $176 million on more than 100 midterm races to build a bipartisan bloc in Congress that could protect its interests after President Donald Trump left office. Fairshake, the industry’s largest super PAC, led the effort and directed strategy as it had in the 2024 cycle.

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $81,478.

This post Bitcoin Price Trades Above $81,500 as Fed Keeps Rates Steady in Split Vote first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

The Netherlands plans 25,000 government job cuts as it explores AI savings. See the 2027 timeline and steps for Dutch and EMEA public-sector IT teams.

The post Netherlands Plans 25,000 Job Cuts as Government Turns to AI appeared first on TechRepublic.

The Netherlands plans 25,000 government job cuts as it explores AI savings. See the 2027 timeline and steps for Dutch and EMEA public-sector IT teams.

The post Netherlands Plans 25,000 Job Cuts as Government Turns to AI appeared first on TechRepublic.

"It can impact quality of life and wellbeing, but it could also have an impact on military readiness overall," said Kristy Williams.

© The Associated Press

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitwise Raises Bitcoin Target to $1.6 Million as Institutions Keep Buying

Bitwise Asset Management this week released its 2027 Bitcoin Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions, raising its 2036 base-case price target for bitcoin to $1,599,766 from $1.3 million a year earlier. 

The forecast implies a 34.3% compound annual growth rate from the roughly $83,557 price the firm used as of September 30, 2026. Bitwise’s bear case is $130,686 and its bull case is $3.67 million.

The base case rests on three arguments. Institutional investors will keep adding bitcoin to portfolios. New supply stays fixed on a predictable schedule. Rising government debt will push investors toward assets that cannot be printed. 

Institutional investors love bitcoin

Bitwise estimates that institutions controlling about $147 trillion could allocate 1% to 5% of their portfolios to bitcoin, which the firm says would mean $1.5 trillion to $7.4 trillion of purchases. The network issues about $14 billion in new coins per year, and Bitwise argues that gap will push prices higher.

Institutional plumbing is already expanding. U.S. spot bitcoin ETPs hold about $108 billion, according to the report. Banks and brokerages are building custody and trading services, and a recent report describes sovereign wealth funds and family offices buying during the 2026 decline. 

Regulators are also moving. A Federal Reserve capital proposal aimed at easing bank custody rules could widen access for large institutions, if adopted.

The past year tested that thesis. Bitcoin fell 53.4% from its October 2025 peak of $126,080 to a June 30, 2026 low of $58,717. Bitwise calls that drawdown the shallowest in the asset’s history. Prior cycle declines were 77%, 84% and 86%. 

Whether the shallow decline signals a new pattern or a pause is less settled. Bitwise expects the four-year cycle to weaken as the investor base broadens. Others see the cycle still at work. 

VanEck argues the current slump follows the historical halving pattern, and Fidelity has pointed to a possible floor around November 2026 if past timing holds. NYDIG has said a repeat of earlier bear markets could push the cycle low near $38,000 to $39,000. Cathie Wood has argued the market is nearly through the downturn. Each view carries a different price floor and timeline.

Bitcoin’s volatility 

Volatility is the other pillar of the forecast. Bitwise models a 27.8% average volatility over the decade, the midpoint between today’s level and its 2036 expectation. Grayscale’s research head recently put one-year volatility at 43%, against a 10-year average of 64%, and lower than the volatility of 19% of S&P 500 companies. Charles Schwab’s research found the asset remains prone to sharp drawdowns despite the lower readings. A Deutsche Bank analyst has described the trend as a sign of a maturing market.

Bitwise also reports that bitcoin’s correlation with gold reached a record 0.58 in September 2026. The firm expects that relationship to deepen, which positions bitcoin as a store-of-value asset. That link cuts both ways. If gold weakens, bitcoin may lose the support it gained from the same investor demand. Gemini has predicted that at least one country will shift part of its gold reserves into bitcoin in 2026, a forecast that has yet to materialize.

The report is candid about what could go wrong. Bitcoin’s track record is short. Its software was developed in 2008 and 2009, trading began on public exchanges in 2010, the first institutional product with bitcoin exposure launched in 2014, and spot ETPs arrived in 2024. 

Bitwise writes that forecasts built heavily on history carry uncertainty because future returns may differ from the past. Regulation is a second concern. The Clarity Act’s failure in Congress, which the report traces to Democratic concerns about ethics provisions, shows that progress can stall, even as the firm argues recent advances are unlikely to be rolled back. 

Technology is a third. Quantum computing, and mathematical advances accelerated by AI, could threaten the cryptography that secures bitcoin wallets. Bitwise says the network will need a major upgrade at some point, and holders who fail to move funds to new addresses could be exposed. The developers have made progress over the past year, the report says, but major issues remain unresolved.

Bitcoin’s price is near $80,500.

This post Bitwise Raises Bitcoin Target to $1.6 Million as Institutions Keep Buying first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

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Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price “Climbing the Wall of Worry” – Early Signs of Bull Market | Michael Sullivan

Bitcoin is holding near $80K, yet the crowd has never seemed less excited and that might be the most bullish signal of all. Michael Sullivan, software engineer and author of Bitcoin Sentiment Weekly, breaks down what language-based sentiment data says about this market. He explains why excitement, conviction and desire are washed out to levels he compares to 2015, and why that looks like the early stages of a disbelief rally.

Chapters:
00:00 Michael Sullivan on Bitcoin and Currency Decay
00:58 Bitcoin’s Pullback From $86K: Is This a Disbelief Rally?
02:10 Bitcoin Sentiment Compared to 2015 and 2022
03:50 How to Tell When the Bitcoin Market Is Overheated
05:05 Measuring Excitement, Conviction and Desire in Bitcoin
06:42 The Next Bitcoin Bull Run Narrative: Bitcoin and AI
08:12 Investor Psychology: Buying Near All-Time Highs vs. DCA
09:42 Bitcoin and Traditional Finance Growing Together
10:54 Why Short-Term Bitcoin Holders Are So Frustrated
12:52 How AI’s Deflation Strengthens the Case for Bitcoin

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.

This post Bitcoin Price “Climbing the Wall of Worry” – Early Signs of Bull Market | Michael Sullivan first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Patrick Green.

The latest generation of Kindle’s 7-inch e-readers have a new look and new accessories. But are they worth the upgrade given Amazon’s new Kindle prices?

SSA reports faster service and historic productivity gains, but its largest union says workers are falling behind.

© Amelia Brust, Federal News Network

The regulatory changes effectively codify the Trump administration’s use of paid administrative leave under last year’s deferred resignation program.

© Getty Images/Mark Wilson

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Rests Near $80,500 as Midterms, Fed Decision Loom

Bitcoin price traded near $80,500 most of Tuesday, holding above the $80,000 level that has become the market’s line in the sand. Prices ranged between roughly $79,400 and $80,800 over the day, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data, and the asset was up about 0.3% over the prior 24 hours by mid-afternoon Eastern time.

The steadiness follows a rough stretch. Bitcoin price fell below $80,000 on Monday as investors cut risk exposure, weighed down by concerns about AI-sector valuations and higher oil prices. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have also been shedding money. Still, the selling hasn’t turned into panic. Bitcoin price has mostly stayed in a band between about $79,000 and $81,000 this week.

The longer view is harder on anyone who bought near the top. Bitcoin’s all-time high sits near $126,000, set in October 2025, and the price is roughly 30% below where it was a year ago.

The Federal Reserve’s policy meeting runs October 27 and 28, with the decision due Wednesday. The central bank has held its target range at 3.75% to 4% after raising it in September, and officials have signaled another increase may be needed by year-end. 

Market odds leaned toward a hold the last time they were clearly reported in early October, but those numbers are stale and likely have moved. Traders will watch Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference for hints about a December hike.

Bitcoin price logic amidst the midterms

The logic for Bitcoin is simple. Higher rates drain liquidity from speculative assets, so a hawkish surprise would likely push the price back toward $80,000 or below. 

A hold, or a softer tone, could give buyers room to push toward the $88,000 range seen earlier this fall. The November 3 midterm elections add another layer. Prediction markets have favored Democrats winning both chambers of Congress, according to one Polymarket reading cited in recent coverage. 

For crypto, the most immediate policy question is the pending market structure bill, and lawmakers’ votes on it could shape how the industry approaches the races. Bitcoin and other risk assets have tended to rally in the 12 months after past midterm cycles. 

TD Cowen analysts have warned the results could stall the CLARITY Act for two years. Prediction markets gave Democrats a 90% chance of winning the House and 62% of winning the Senate, a scenario TD Cowen called the most negative for bitcoin. 

A split Congress, with Republicans holding the Senate, was seen as better, while a Republican sweep was viewed as the best path for crypto. The bill had stalled after a failed Senate cloture vote in September, with ethics provisions and stablecoin yield still dividing lawmakers.

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is roughly $80,600.

This post Bitcoin Price Rests Near $80,500 as Midterms, Fed Decision Loom first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Many readers will be familiar with Douglas Englebart’s 1968 so-called “Mother of All Demos”, in which he described many of the devices and technologies we would be using two or three decades later. Among these was a primitive computer mouse, but while famous it was by no means the earliest pointing device. At the recent Vintage Computer Festival Berlin, [Dmitriy Kostiuk] delivered a fascinating lecture of the history of the pointing device.

It’s a long video that we’ve placed below, and it’s an exhaustive examination of the topic from the earliest examples to the 1990s when mice became commoditized. It’s a surprise to find that the first pointing device was a trackball built for a 1950s Canadian warship, with a surprisingly modern-looking optical encoder. Englebart’s 1966 wooden block with its pair of wheels and potentiometers had a less-well-known and much more stylish competitor in the same year from Telefunken.

We visit the various design iterations as the form of what we’d call a mouse today took shape. It’s unexpected to find that those Sun mice with the spotty mouse pad weren’t from Sun at all, they were from Mouse Systems. The first mice from Microsoft and Apple make an appearance, as do some awful designs for 8-bit computrs. Remembering those in particular perhaps it’s as well we didn’t have the cash to buy such a disappointing product for ourselves.

The video is long, but interesting. Give it a watch.

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Header image, Douglas Englebart’s prototype, Michael Hicks, CC BY 2.0.

Samsung faces a $15.1 million fine over gaming claims tied to the Galaxy S21 and S22, reviving a four-year throttling controversy that lawsuits had seemingly put to rest without consumer damages.

The Waterdrop X12 improved the taste of my tap water, but reverse osmosis comes with costs beyond the purchase price.

Avoid the scariest thing this Halloween (your phone at 1 percent) with Anker's 20 percent off sale on all charging gear.

TL;DR: SEC staff guidance spells out a 30-day public-notice requirement for venues seeking to operate under the temporary tokenised-stock exemption.

The SEC’s experiment with blockchain-based stock trading comes with a meaningful preparation period. Guidance published on October 20 says a tokenised securities venue relying on the agency’s conditional innovation exemption must publish a public operating notice at least 30 calendar days before starting.

The document does more than specify a deadline. It says venues should have their operations and access standards ready for production when they disclose them, and must keep the notice accurate as details change. A platform cannot simply announce that it intends to trade tokenised shares and treat that as permission to begin immediately.

There are issuer protections too. Where a venue proposes to trade shares tokenised by a third party, a separate objection period may still be running. The SEC staff says the venue can disclose that pending status, but cannot make those shares available before the relevant period concludes without an objection.

Importantly, these are staff FAQs interpreting a conditional order, not a generally applicable new rule with the force of law. The exemption remains limited in scope. Its wider significance is that US regulators are testing whether distributed-ledger market infrastructure can be introduced with ordinary disclosure, investor rights and accountability still visible to the public.

More from NewsBTC: Cryptocurrency news · Ethereum coverage · Crypto research and categories

Hundreds of employees at the US robotics firm Boston Dynamics signed a petition calling for executives to halt a sale of the company’s robot dogs to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement—but executives stood by the deal, while saying the robots would not be weaponized.

On September 25, the Department of Homeland Security contract awarded $1.3 million to a Connecticut company called Radeco to provide ICE with modified versions of Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robots. But Boston Dynamics workers sent the petition letter with more than 300 signatures—half of them anonymous—to the company’s executives in early September and shared copies with The Boston Globe and WBUR public radio station.

“Many of us have gotten messages from friends and family, asking us in disbelief and horror if this news is true, and how we can live with ourselves if it is,” according to the petition. “The risk for Boston Dynamics is simply too great to continue with this deal.”

Read full article

Comments

© Radeco

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Hovers Near $80,000 as Traders Await Fed Decision

Bitcoin price traded near $80,000 on Monday, after falling about 2% earlier in the session. The price has dipped below that level several times in recent days and recovered each time.

Selling pressure has been building. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $635 million in outflows on October 22. A brief drop below $80,000 last week also triggered roughly $800 million in liquidations of long positions, or bets that prices would rise.

The next major test to look out for is the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, which ends October 28. The Fed raised its target range to 3.75% to 4% in September, and its minutes suggested another increase could come by year-end. 

Most recent market odds favor the Fed holding rates steady, though those odds have shifted. Traders are watching Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s remarks for signs of a December hike.

Higher interest rates typically pull money away from risky assets, including crypto. Broadly speaking, a hold could keep bitcoin price between roughly $80,000 and $88,000. A rate hike could push it toward the lower end of that range.

Bitcoin price backdrop

Geopolitical tensions are also weighing on markets. Oil rose above $100 a barrel in early September as strikes between the U.S. and Iran escalated. Higher energy prices feed into inflation, which affects the Fed’s decisions. 

In tech, Anthropic is reportedly preparing an initial public offering that could value the AI company near $965 billion. The timing has shifted toward the weeks before the November midterm elections, but no date has been confirmed. 

U.S. stocks surged a bit Monday as investors geared up for a busy week of Big Tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision. The Nasdaq rose 0.8%, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the Dow climbed 0.3%. 

Alphabet and Microsoft report Wednesday, followed by Amazon Thursday, while markets largely expect the Fed to hold rates steady. 

AI-related stocks rallied following Anthropic’s IPO filing. Tesla jumped 6%, while Meta plans to raise up to $95 billion for AI investments. 

As of writing, bitcoin price trades at $80,215, down nearly $4,000 or 4.75%, on the month. Over the past month, prices have ranged from a high of $86,806.95 to a low of $79,397.76. Bitcoin price peaked above $86,000 in early October, then slid toward $80,000 in the second week of the month. 

A brief rally around October 21 pushed it back near $84,000, but those gains faded within days. Trading volume over the past 24 hours reached about $18.12 billion. 

Bitcoin price remains far below its all-time high of $126,277.05.

This post Bitcoin Price Hovers Near $80,000 as Traders Await Fed Decision first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

It's the final week of October, which means spooky season is coming to an end. There are plenty of horror movies to watch on Netflix, including Friday the 13th and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This week's list of movies heading to streaming is not made up entirely of horror movies, but there are some tense thrillers, including a wild documentary on Paramount+.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin’s Bear Market Is Over, Galaxy Says

Galaxy Research believes bitcoin’s bear market ended in June and that the asset has entered an accumulation phase, according to a research alert from the firm.  “We believe now is an attractive time to buy and hold bitcoin,” the report said.

Bitcoin traded near $80,000 at the time of the note, about 35% below its October 2025 high and 39% above the June 30 low. The price would need to rise 53% to retake the previous record. The S&P 500, by comparison, sits within 1% of a record set on Oct. 6.

The report lays out four arguments: technical, positioning, fundamental and sentiment.

Bitcoin technicals

Galaxy uses two weekly moving averages to track bitcoin’s bear markets. The 200-week average has acted as a floor in each one, and the 50-week average has acted as a ceiling, according to the firm.

Bitcoin lost the 50-week average in November 2025 and stayed below it for 44 weeks. The June low tested the 200-week average and held, with the worst weekly close coming 4.7% beneath it. Price closed back above the 50-week average in September, and the week ended Oct. 18 was the fifth consecutive weekly close above that level.

Galaxy counted 13 such reclaims since 2011 and said the outcome depended on how long price had spent below the line. The four reclaims that ended spells of 20 weeks or more were higher a year later, by between 55% and 1,497%, and none closed more than 8.4% below the reclaim level in the following 12 months. Of the nine that ended shorter spells, seven fell more than 25% within a year.

The firm said the halving cycle supports the same conclusion. Prior cycles bottomed on days 777, 889 and 912 after their halvings. Oct. 22 was day 916 of the current cycle. Galaxy said the gains that followed those lows (87x, 19x and 7.6x) have shrunk each cycle and that it does not forecast a repeat.

The current drawdown of 53% is the shallowest in bitcoin’s history, the report said, and the first in which price did not fall below the network’s realized cost basis.

Positioning

The report identified basis traders and macro funds as the main sellers since the top. Asset managers’ net long position in CME bitcoin futures fell 57% from the week of the all-time high, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data cited by Galaxy. 

Leveraged funds’ net short position, which represents the futures side of the cash-and-carry trade against spot ETFs, shrank by a similar amount. The front-month basis averaged 7.9% annualized in the 30 days before the high and 4.8% in the 30 days to Oct. 21, which the firm said no longer covers the trade’s costs and risk.

Galaxy pointed to 13F filings to identify the sellers. Millennium Management, Brevan Howard, Goldman Sachs, Capula, Farallon, D. E. Shaw, Schonfeld, Symmetry and Tudor cut their spot ETF holdings by between 29% and 100% between the September 2025 and June 2026 quarter-ends, a combined 68,000 BTC. 

Because total holdings across all 2,200 filers fell by 48,000 BTC, the remaining institutions added in aggregate. Morgan Stanley’s wealth management arm, Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council were among the buyers.

Spot ETF holdings dropped 11% from peak to trough while price fell 53%, and the funds have added 87,000 BTC since the June low, the report said.

Fundamentals and sentiment

Galaxy’s fundamental case centers on U.S. fiscal conditions. Federal debt reached $40.44 trillion on Oct. 20, fiscal 2026 ended with a $1.99 trillion deficit, and the 10-year Treasury yield hit 5.31% on Oct. 5, its highest since 2007. 

The firm argued that a government refinancing that debt at 5% while running 6% deficits faces pressure to inflate.

The report described AI-related borrowing, which Morgan Stanley expects to reach $570 billion this year, as a contributor to that pressure rather than a competitor for capital.

On sentiment, Galaxy compared the current environment to 2015–16 and 2018–19, when mainstream finance embraced “blockchain” and dismissed bitcoin. Both periods coincided with cycle lows. The firm said the 2026 version is “stablecoins and tokenization, not bitcoin,” citing bank pilots of tokenized deposits, the Senate’s failed cloture vote on the Clarity Act on Sept. 15, and Google searches for “bitcoin” at multiyear lows.

Risks

Galaxy set a tripwire for its view: a weekly close below the 50-week average, about $76,540, that is not regained within a month. It cited AI-enabled theft, including the $387.5 million Bitget exploit, while noting none of the incidents involved the Bitcoin protocol itself.

On quantum computing, the report said 7.1 million BTC sit in outputs with exposed public keys but that no cryptographically relevant quantum computer exists. It pointed to BIP-360’s merge into the BIP repository in February and Galaxy’s own $5 million quantum readiness commitment.

This post Bitcoin’s Bear Market Is Over, Galaxy Says first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Whether you're starting a new business venture and need Microsoft Office's help or you just want to get better organized in your personal life, it's a good time to take advantage of this deal.

The post Get Lifetime Access to Microsoft Office 2021 for Just $28 appeared first on TechRepublic.