Bitcoin slips under $80,000 as traders de-risk ahead of Fed meeting

The Fed announces its decision on Wednesday, and traders will be listening to Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference for any hint that a hike is coming in December. Higher rates make borrowing more expensive and tend to pull money out of riskier assets like crypto.

In Asia, the AI selloff kept going. South Korea’s Kospi, which traders watch for AI sentiment because of how much weight chipmakers like Samsung Electronics carry in it, fell 1% after Goldman Sachs strategists cut their 12-month target for the index by 25%. Chip stocks were the biggest losers on Japan’s Nikkei, and Chinese AI model developers slumped. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.1% as investors braced for earnings from the biggest U.S. tech companies this week.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1%, and it’s struggling to recover from four straight weeks of losses, its longest losing run since April.

Oil gave markets a bit of relief. Brent crude fell 2% from a six-month high to about $114 a barrel after President Donald Trump said it’s “getting to be decision time” on whether to reach a deal with Iran or resume attacks. Treasuries rose.

Bitcoin needs to get back above $82,500, the floor it lost last Thursday, before buyers can call this week’s dip a pause.