Bitcoin News Today: BTC Slips to $81,300 as Oil Nears $110 Despite a $665 Million Inflow Into BlackRock’s IBIT

Last Updated: October 20, 2026

Bitcoin slipped to about $81,300 on Tuesday, October 20, giving back Monday’s bounce as oil prices climbed and futures traders sold, even though US spot Bitcoin ETFs, led by BlackRock’s IBIT, had just recorded their biggest day of inflows in a month.

Key Takeaways

BTC fell 1.82% over the past 24 hours to about $81,320 and is down 2.68% over the week, according to CoinMarketCap. It traded between about $81,107 and $83,009 over the past day, and its market capitalization stands at about $1.63 trillion, with a 60.1% share of the crypto market.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) took in $665.2 million on Monday, October 19, and lifted US spot Bitcoin ETFs to a net inflow of about $526.6 million, their biggest day since September 22. Fidelity’s FBTC lost $83.6 million and Grayscale’s GBTC $54.9 million, so the buying came from a single fund, and October flows are still about $90 million negative.

BlackRock also filed on October 19 for the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF, a fund that seeks upside exposure to IBIT while limiting losses, a sign that issuers see demand for Bitcoin products with less volatility.

Macro pressure is building. Brent crude traded near $110 a barrel, close to a five-month high, and CME FedWatch prices about an 18% chance of a Federal Reserve hike on October 28 and around 90% by December. Glassnode’s weekly report shows net selling of about $563 million in perpetual futures and rising demand for downside protection in options.

Corporate buyers stayed active. Strategy bought 267 BTC and now holds 848,517 BTC, while raising its authorization to buy back preferred stock to $3 billion, and Strive added 1,223 BTC to reach 36,818 BTC. A wallet dormant since 2013 moved 411 BTC on October 18, but not to an exchange.

Bitcoin Market Overview

Metric	Value
Price	~$81,320
24h Change	-1.82%
7d Change	-2.68%
Market Cap	~$1.63 trillion
24h Volume	~$24.14 billion
Circulating Supply	~20.09 million BTC

Source: CoinMarketCap, October 20, 2026.

Bitcoin News Today: Price Analysis

Monday’s rebound ran into sellers near $83,000, just below the 20-day moving average at about $83,350, and the reversal took BTC to an overnight low of about $81,100. The price is now sitting on its 50-day moving average near $81,500, which has acted as a pivot since mid-October. Leverage was flushed on the way down: about $188 million of crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, $104 million of them longs, according to CoinGlass.

The setup is tight. A daily close below $81,000 would put the October 15 low of $79,800 back in play, while bulls need to reclaim $83,000 to $83,350 before they can target $84,350, the October 12 high. For a longer view of the levels, see our Bitcoin price page; for year-end and long-term forecasts, our Bitcoin price prediction.

Support and Resistance Levels

Level Type	Price
Key Resistance	$84,350
Immediate Resistance	$83,200
Immediate Support	$81,100
Key Support	$79,800

Why Is Bitcoin Trending Today?

The tug of war is between spot buyers and futures sellers. Monday’s ETF inflow came almost entirely from IBIT, and ETF trading volume, about $10.1 billion over the past week according to Glassnode, sits below its usual range. Futures traders, meanwhile, have been net sellers, and options traders are paying more for protection: the 25-delta skew tracked by Glassnode rose from 5.2% to 8.6%.

Macro is the second weight. Inflation came in at 3.7% in September, producer prices also ran hot, and oil’s climb toward $110 adds to the case for another Fed hike. Our explainer on what makes Bitcoin’s price go up or down covers how rates and liquidity feed into BTC.

Corporate treasuries remain in focus after MSCI’s October 15 decision to apply a “non-operating company” test that could remove firms such as Strategy from its indexes from November 30. Strategy has kept buying in small amounts and is spending on buybacks of its STRC preferred stock, about $193.1 million last week.

For the rest of the market, see crypto market today and crypto news today, plus our daily pages for Ethereum, XRP, Zcash and Hedera (HBAR).

What This Means for the Days Ahead

The calendar is crowded. CoinShares’ Bitcoin and Ether ETF ended trading on October 20 ahead of its liquidation on or around October 21, the day Solana switches to its Alpenglow consensus. The Federal Reserve announces its decision on October 28, and October 29 brings US third-quarter GDP, September PCE inflation and third-quarter results from both Coinbase and Strategy. The midterm elections follow on November 3, the October inflation report on November 10, and MSCI’s final list of affected companies on November 11.

One overhang is gone for now: on October 16, the Mt. Gox trustee moved the repayment deadline for the estate’s roughly 34,400 BTC to October 31, 2027. Until the Fed meeting, the most useful signals are whether IBIT’s inflows continue and whether BTC can hold its 50-day moving average.

Compare Crypto Prices Today

Asset	Price Page
Bitcoin	Bitcoin Price
Ethereum	Ethereum Price
XRP	XRP Price
Solana	Solana Price
BNB	BNB Price
TRON	TRON Price

Where to Buy Bitcoin

Bitcoin is available on all major exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, KuCoin, Gate.io, OKX and Bybit. US investors can also use spot Bitcoin ETFs such as IBIT and FBTC. For gaming platforms that accept BTC, see our crypto casinos guide.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the latest Bitcoin news today?
Bitcoin slipped about 1.8% to around $81,300 on October 20 as oil prices neared $110 and futures traders sold. US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in about $526.6 million on October 19, led by $665.2 million into BlackRock’s IBIT, and BlackRock filed for a Bitcoin ETF with downside protection. Strategy and Strive both added to their Bitcoin holdings last week.

Why is Bitcoin down today?
Bitcoin is down because futures traders are selling and macro pressure is rising. Glassnode reports net selling in perpetual futures and higher demand for downside protection in options. Brent crude near $110 and September inflation of 3.7% have pushed traders to price around a 90% chance of another Federal Reserve rate hike by December, which weighs on risk assets.

Are Bitcoin ETFs seeing inflows or outflows?
Both, depending on the day. US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted about $910 million of outflows in the two weeks to October 16, then took in about $526.6 million on October 19, their biggest day since September 22. Almost all of that came from BlackRock’s IBIT, while Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s GBTC still saw outflows, and October flows remain slightly negative.

What are Bitcoin’s key support and resistance levels?
Immediate support sits near $81,100, the October 20 low, with key support at $79,800, the October 15 low. On the upside, immediate resistance is about $83,200, Monday’s high, and key resistance is $84,350, the October 12 high. Bitcoin is also testing its 50-day moving average near $81,500, which has acted as a pivot since mid-October.