Bitcoin Slides Below $80,000 as Tech Sell‑Off and Gold Drop Trigger Worst October Since 2014

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $80,000 at the U.S. market open, struggling to hold around $77,000 as risk assets slid across the board. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.5% to 25,500, its lowest level since early August, while gold dropped to $3,891 per ounce, the weakest in a year. BTC’s decline put it on track for a 7.7% monthly loss, the steepest October performance since 2014. The rout was fueled by renewed fears over AI monetization, weak forward guidance from tech giants such as Intel, and the aftermath of a $6.3 billion hack at Binance, which prompted the exchange to cover losses with its own capital. The combination of tech‑sector earnings uncertainty and the Binance incident has intensified market repricing across risk assets.