Bitcoin Steadies Near 80K as Fed Meeting and Global Crypto Rules Loom

Bitcoin clawed back above $80,000 on Sunday after a bruising weekend selloff sent the price as low as $79,146, its weakest point in more than a month. Thin weekend liquidity intensified the downturn, forcing out leveraged positions and contributing to more than $810 million in total cryptocurrency liquidations over a 24-hour stretch, according to Coinglass data. Investors are now watching the Federal Reserve's October 27-28 meeting, where signals of further rate tightening could strengthen the dollar and weigh on risk assets like Bitcoin.

The recovery stalled well below recent highs, with BTC slipping beneath its 50-day moving average near $81,700. Traders are eyeing potential support around $78,400 if selling resumes. Bitcoin's dominance of the broader crypto market held at roughly 60%, while the Fear and Greed Index registered a neutral reading of 54, reflecting an uneasy calm rather than outright panic.

JPMorgan Warns on Clarity Act Fallout and South Korea Eyes Tax Delay

JPMorgan analysts said this week that recent U.S. regulatory actions only partly soften the blow from the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act last month. The bank cautioned that agency-level rules, while helpful for near-term institutional participation, could be reversed by a future administration without comprehensive market-structure legislation from Congress. The analysts added that elevated political and legal risk will persist until a durable law is passed, and that the Clarity Act is unlikely to be revived before 2027.

Meanwhile, South Korea's presidential office backed yet another postponement of the country's planned 22% cryptocurrency gains tax, with lawmakers considering pushing the start date from January 2027 all the way to 2029. Officials cited incomplete infrastructure for collecting the tax, difficulties tracking transactions on overseas platforms, and concerns that the levy would hurt younger investors using crypto to build personal wealth. Until Parliament passes an amendment, the tax remains legally scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, with a final decision expected during November's tax law review.