Bitcoin Falls Below $80,000; Wintermute Reports $1.5 Billion in Liquidations Following Hack

Bitcoin fell below $80,000, triggering roughly $1.5 billion in liquidations across crypto markets following the Binance hack, according to a new market report from market maker Wintermute. Wintermute identified the hack—not the Federal Reserve decision or PCE inflation data—as the key driver of last week's market direction. The report states Binance suffered approximately $6.3 billion in losses from the October 29 breach, with about $3 billion of that subsequently frozen, and links the incident to the North Korea-associated TraderTraitor group. The hack's outsized impact on positioning underscores how security events, rather than macro catalysts, are currently dictating crypto market flows. Watch for further details on the frozen funds' recovery process and whether additional liquidations follow if Bitcoin remains under the $80,000 level.