Bitcoin Price Struggles at $80K, but MEXC CEO Sees Bullish Signals
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin twice reclaimed $80,000 on Oct. 26 but remained down more than 4% for the month.
- Bitcoin liquidations surpassed $56 million, with long positions accounting for nearly 65%.
- MEXC CEO Vugar Usi Zade expects Bitcoin to rebound as economic pressures ease in 2026.
Volatile Start to the Week
Bitcoin’s price reclaimed $80,000 twice on Monday as the cryptocurrency appeared poised to continue a downward trend that began at the start of the month. The decline has largely extinguished hopes of an “Uptober” rally, which many analysts predicted would deliver the cryptocurrency’s largest monthly gains of the year.
According to market data, before reclaiming $80,000, bitcoin had progressively fallen from above $80,800 to $79,260, its lowest point since Sept. 18. Shortly after midnight, however, the cryptocurrency rebounded to nearly $80,500 about six hours later.
Although the cryptocurrency briefly found support above $80,250, a sharp sell-off sent its price tumbling toward $79,300 before a relief rally pushed it back above $80,500. At 1:30 p.m. ET, bitcoin’s price sat at $80,272, down 0.5% for the day. The near-flat price action left its market capitalization stuck at $1.61 trillion, representing a month-to-date loss of more than 4%.
Because the price fluctuated mostly between $79,500 and $80,500, leveraged bitcoin liquidations topped $56 million. Still, that was more than double the $25 million in liquidations recorded on Friday, when bitcoin also experienced flat trading.
According to Coinglass data at the time of writing, liquidated long positions accounted for nearly 65%, or $35.5 million, of total bitcoin liquidations. That trend extended across the broader crypto market, where long liquidations totaled $134 million, or 66%, of the roughly $203 million in overall liquidations.
Shifting Market Dynamics
As noted in an Oct. 23 Bitcoin.com News report, bitcoin’s recent price action appeared to defy past norms. For example, more than $1 billion in spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows had only a mild impact on the price compared with similar inflows in 2025 and earlier this year.
In addition, rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the subsequent surge in oil prices have historically weighed on bitcoin. However, bitcoin’s flat price action on Friday, Oct. 23—when Brent Crude peaked at $117 per barrel—suggests that other factors are now driving the market.
Commenting on the shifting dynamics, Vugar Usi Zade, CEO of crypto exchange MEXC, highlighted bitcoin’s growing detachment from macroeconomic shocks.
“In 2026, we are seeing an interesting pattern: bitcoin’s resilience to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors,” Usi Zade said. “For instance, contrary to many analysts’ expectations and historical trends, bitcoin reacted positively to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike at its Sept. 16 meeting, climbing from $75,000 to $81,000.”
Usi Zade noted that a structural change in trading mechanisms explains this behavior. With institutional derivative products and spot ETFs capturing a larger share of trading, price formation increasingly occurs through fund share creation and capital reallocation rather than instant order-book execution. Consequently, daily ETF flow data reveals counteracting forces: funds recorded roughly $1.075 billion in inflows between Monday and Wednesday, followed by $774 million in outflows Thursday and Friday, leaving net weekly inflows at roughly $301 million.
He added that institutional strategies, such as hedging ETF buys with futures shorts, and delayed asset settlements further decouple daily inflow statistics from immediate spot price growth. Addressing geopolitical risks, Usi Zade stated that markets have largely priced in initial escalations. While an isolated surge in oil prices might not immediately trigger a sell-off, sustained energy costs could eventually tighten financial conditions if inflationary fears force higher rates.
Despite prevailing pressures, Usi Zade expressed an optimistic medium-term outlook.
“The secret behind this remarkable resilience is that bitcoin is already in a bull cycle,” Usi Zade said. “As soon as pressure from negative factors eases, the price of the leading cryptocurrency will start moving upward.”
