Bitcoin experienced downward pressure during Asian trading hours, dipping briefly below the $80,000 threshold as financial markets braced for upcoming macroeconomic policy decisions. Alongside movements in digital assets, global equity markets faced headwinds while regional indices in Tokyo and Seoul also retreated.
Market observers noted that macroeconomic uncertainties, combined with fluctuations in traditional risk assets and forced liquidations of leveraged bets, contributed to short-term volatility across crypto markets.
Bitcoin Tests Key Support Levels Ahead of Federal Reserve Meeting
Bitcoin briefly slipped under $80,000 during Asian trading on Monday, touching $79,785 at 08:07 UTC before staging a modest recovery to approximately $80,440. According to CoinGecko data, this price point represents roughly a 4% decline compared to levels seen at the start of the previous Thursday.
Concurrently, stock markets in Seoul and Tokyo drifted lower. South Korea's Kospi index declined by about 1.5%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.8%. Vikas Gupta, India country manager for Bybit, pointed to broader investor concerns surrounding artificial intelligence company valuations and elevated oil prices as factors influencing sentiment. He added that forced liquidations of leveraged positions could amplify near-term price swings.
Prediction Markets Spark Debate Following Brazil Election Outcome
Political prediction platforms experienced heavy engagement and subsequent debate during Brazil's presidential runoff election. On Sunday morning, forecasting platforms Polymarket and Kalshi indicated that candidate Flávio Bolsonaro held an approximate 80% implied probability of winning.
However, as voting results came in, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a fourth term, capturing 51.8% of valid votes compared to Bolsonaro's 48.2%, according to CNBC reports. On Kalshi, Lula's odds shifted dramatically from 20% to 70% in slightly over two hours, generating what user Michael McDonough noted on X as the heaviest trading volume in the platform's history. Polymarket's dedicated Brazil market ultimately drew more than $249 million in volume, even though prediction markets remain officially banned within Brazil itself.
The sudden shift generated intense discussion among commentators. Figures like Joe Weisenthal questioned whether the outcome represented a significant miss for prediction markets, while Harry Crane countered by framing it as an unexpected political upset.
Security Incidents and Regional Developments Involve Hardware Wallets and Blockchain Plans
In the security sector, Foundation—the manufacturer of the Passport bitcoin hardware wallet—confirmed that phishing emails were sent to customers using its official domains, directing recipients to surrender their seed phrases. The company stated on X that customer funds and physical devices remain secure. Initially attributing the breach to compromised Cloudflare API keys that were subsequently revoked, CEO Zach Herbert later explained that attackers exploited a vulnerability in a self-hosted application, likely compromising the customer support inbox. Some recipients also found their personal mailing addresses or phone numbers included in the messages, data the company believes may have originated from the support inbox, external crypto leaks, or recent Shopify store orders.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of establishing a "bypass economy" during a Channel 10 interview, suggesting blockchain technology as a potential alternative route to prepare for prospective sanctions on national banks. The Bank of Israel publicly pushed back against the concept, stating that crypto infrastructure cannot bypass sanctions.
