The U.S., a global supplier of USD-pegged stablecoins, has once again “imported” more bitcoin than it “exported,” becoming a net importer for the first time since 2022, according to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. The firm reached this conclusion by analyzing data for the year ending in June 2026.
Will Bitcoin reverse its summer gains in Q4?
Bitcoin is trading between overlapping support at $80,000-$81,500 and break-even supply near $88,000. ETF outflows have weakened spot demand, though long-term-holder realized losses are down about 85%.
Gold and bitcoin share a scarcity-based case against currency debasement, but differ in infrastructure, adoption and volatility. The portfolio question for 2027 is how much of each to hold.
Bitcoin options open interest increased 0.93% to $38.5 billion, with calls accounting for 59.48%. A $90,000 Deribit call expiring Dec. 25 led 24-hour volume.
Bitcoin BTC$80,972.85 has dropped more than 2% in the past 24 hours, with some of the other major coins such as XRP (XRP), ether ETH$2,362.57 and solana (SOL) sliding even further. The move looks less like a crypto-specific story and more like a broad-based exit from riskier investments.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan argued in an Oct. 14 memo that nearly every macroeconomic path ends with Bitcoin higher, including an extraordinary AI productivity boom that makes scarce assets more valuable. Two days earlier, the Bank for International Settlements published a working paper that models a fourth path.
September's consumer price index rose 3.7% year over year, above the 3.6% forecast. Core inflation also topped estimates.
Bitcoin touched about $80,500 on Thursday after September CPI came in at 3.7%, while South Korea's Kospi closed 7.6% lower after a 20-minute trading halt.
Nearly a billion dollars gone. Just like that.
Bitcoin fell to just above $80,000 as South Korea's Kospi plunged 8%, while the CoinDesk 80 fell 2.2% and all but six CoinDesk 100 members declined.
The KOSPI fell 7.5% Thursday, with chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics among the hardest-hit stocks.