Bitcoin dips below $81,000 as Brent crude hits five-month high

Bitcoin briefly dropped below $81,000 at the start of Friday's US trading session. Data from TradingView showed the BTC/USD pair falling to $80,988 before recovering to around $81,600. The price action focused on reclaiming the 50-day simple moving average at $81,781. During the same period, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were down 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.4% lower. The 10-year US bond yield stayed below 5%, having reached 4.939% on Thursday.

Brent crude oil reached $116 per barrel for the first time since March 19. This represented a rise of nearly 3% and marked the highest level in five months. WTI crude oil also moved past $102 per barrel. These moves followed an attack on Saudi Arabia by the Yemeni rebel group the Houthis. Economist Robin Brooks noted that prices were rising although oil flows through the Persian Gulf approached pre-war levels.

Significant outflows from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds added downward pressure on the asset. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust saw the biggest outflows with investors cashing out over $254 million. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund lost close to $218 million, and over $109 million left the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF. Bitcoin has typically performed well in a low interest rate environment because it means the asset has more liquidity to rally. The cryptocurrency notched a record of $126,080 in October 2025 but then began to sink later that month.

Keith Alan, cofounder of crypto trading platform Material Indicators, saw potential for lower support retests if Bitcoin fails to reclaim the 50-day SMA by tonight's close.