Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Saturday 24 October 2026, reaching its weakest level in more than a month as Middle East tensions weighed on weekend trading, CoinDesk reported. The cryptocurrency was down about 2.2 percent over 24 hours to around $79,700, with Ether, XRP and Solana falling by roughly 3 to 4 percent in the same period.

What drove the fall

CoinDesk linked the slide to reports that the United States was moving personnel from embassies and military bases across the Middle East, after intelligence warnings about Iranian plots against Americans. Weekend crypto trading can be thinner than weekday trading, which can amplify price moves when news breaks while traditional markets are closed. That context helps explain the speed of the move, but it does not prove a single cause.

Liquidations piled up

TokenPost reported that crypto liquidations reached $291 million in the hour ending at 11:18 a.m. Eastern Time on 24 October, with long positions accounting for $274 million of that total. Bitcoin liquidations made up $86.79 million and Ether $69.8 million in that hour. Liquidations are forced closures of leveraged trades, and a heavy skew to long liquidations shows bullish traders were caught by the drop.

What happened next

By Sunday morning, Bitcoin had edged back towards $80,000, with one report putting it at about $80,500, little changed over 24 hours but still near its weakest level in more than a month. Analysts quoted in weekend coverage were watching $80,000 as resistance on any bounce and $77,000 as the next level that would decide the trend. This is market news, not investment advice. Sources: CoinDesk; TokenPost.