The market this morning

Bitcoin slips below $80,000 for the first time in a month as leveraged longs lose $404 million

By Crypto Info News

Good morning. Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 on Saturday, the first time it has traded under that level in more than a month, CoinDesk reported. By Saturday it was at $80,810.57, down 0.36% over 24 hours, on volume of $21.86 billion. CoinDesk tied the weekend pressure to US evacuations from the Middle East.

The move hit leveraged traders. The Block reported that crypto longs lost $404 million in four hours as bitcoin briefly slipped below $80,000. Spot bitcoin ETFs lost $773 million on Thursday and Friday after three days of net inflows, The Block said, citing SoSoValue data.

Ether tracked the weakness at $2,356.57, down 1.18%. XRP held firmer at $1.30, up 0.35%, while BNB was flat at $739.04.

In the United States, the SEC's tokenized-stock experiment drew more resistance. Cointelegraph reported that Wells Fargo and five others had objected to the OKX-ICE listings; CoinDesk reported that six more firms, including Wells Fargo, Cisco and Marvell, had filed objections, citing Reuters, bringing the total to 22 as of Friday. A separate CoinDesk piece argued the early pushback from companies such as McDonald's, Microsoft and Google may reflect issuer caution rather than rejection of tokenization.

In Argentina, a judge cleared President Javier Milei and 10 others in the LIBRA case. Both The Block and CoinDesk reported the ruling, which found that Milei's promotion of the LIBRA token did not, by itself, establish fraud.

Adoption news ran alongside the sell-off. Decrypt reported that HSBC switched on its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin inside PayMe on Friday, reaching 3 million wallets. CoinDesk reported that Franklin Templeton added $150 million in fund shares to the XRP Ledger, and that Strategy and Strive have financed purchases of nearly 136,000 bitcoin through preferred stock.

On policy, CoinDesk reported Apex Group's Peter Hughes warning that the failure of the US Clarity Act could push digital-asset firms toward Asia and the Middle East. Cointelegraph reported, citing Forbes, that the IRS plans lower penalties for voluntary crypto tax disclosures. Decrypt reported that Israel's Netanyahu said he has requested a blockchain plan in case banks face sanctions.

What to watch: ETF flows next week, further objections to the OKX-ICE platform, and whether bitcoin holds or reclaims the $80,000 level.