Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $80,000 during Thursday's Asian trading session, reversing a two-day rebound as a fresh wave of risk aversion swept through global technology stocks. The move underscored how closely digital assets now track sentiment in equities and other risk-sensitive markets, where swings in tech earnings and central bank signals can spill over into crypto within hours.

The largest cryptocurrency traded at $79,805.38, sliding from above $81,700 to around $79,800. The decline dragged the broader crypto market lower and triggered a wave of liquidations among traders betting on a rally.

Tech Jitters Spill Into Crypto

The selloff began in Asia, where Samsung shares fell more than 5% after its semiconductor division missed elevated investor expectations. The chip unit reported a 15-fold surge in operating profit to 106.5 trillion won for the three months through September, but the result fell just short of the average analyst estimate of 108.5 trillion won.

Samsung also said it expects capital expenditure to reach 84.4 trillion won, or about $63 billion, this year — up roughly 60%. Group-wide net income still rose 39%, but the disappointment was enough to rattle markets.

As one of the world's largest memory-chip makers, Samsung's results are widely read as a gauge of technology-sector momentum, which helps explain why the drop weighed on sentiment far beyond Seoul. South Korea's Kospi fell more than 2%, while futures tied to the Nasdaq declined 1.4%. That weakness rippled into digital assets, dragging bitcoin, ether (ETH, $2,305.35), XRP, solana (SOL), and a host of other tokens lower — a reminder that the same risk-off impulse can move chip stocks and cryptocurrencies in tandem.

Fed Holds, but Hawkish Signals Linger

Overnight, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the 3.75%–4% range, delivering what has been described as a hawkish hold. Chair Kevin Warsh acknowledged that progress is being made on inflation but said price pressures remain too high. ING still expects the central bank to deliver another rate increase in December, following September's hike — making that meeting the next key checkpoint for markets assessing the rate path.

BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income and Head of the Global Allocation Investment Team Rick Rieder struck a cautious tone, saying investors should avoid making a "heroic directional call" on rates.

"Real yields remain attractive, and there's considerable income available across high-quality fixed-income markets," Rieder said. "We continue to favor a moderate duration posture, taking advantage of today's income opportunities while remaining patient as this unusually divergent economy evolves."

For crypto, the risk is that a hawkish tone keeps real — or inflation-adjusted — bond yields elevated and may limit capital inflows into risky, speculative assets. Because bitcoin generates no yield of its own, elevated real yields raise the opportunity cost of holding it, a dynamic that helps explain why hawkish central bank signals tend to weigh quickly on crypto sentiment.

Liquidations Mount

Bitcoin's renewed slide below $80,000 accelerated selling across derivatives markets. Futures positions worth $356 million were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to market data. Long positions — bets that prices would rise — accounted for $205 million of that total, a sign that leveraged traders positioned for the rebound to continue were the first to be forced out.

Bitcoin futures saw $94 million in liquidations, while ether futures accounted for $72 million.

This report is based on coverage originally published at CoinDesk.