Bitcoin Daily Wrap, 23 Oct 2026

Bitcoin closed the day at $81,225 according to CoinGecko, down 3.8% over 24 hours, though the 7-day move is a much gentler fall of 0.78%. Over 30 days the coin is off 5.65%, and over the year it has lost 24.45%. We've noted that it sits 35.58% below its all-time high of $126,080, and bitcoin's share of the total crypto market stood at 59.61%. Sentiment has warmed while the price slipped: the Fear and Greed index reads 68, which is firmly in "Greed", up from 53 a week ago, so the mood has improved even as the coin has traded lower.

US spot ETFs took in a net $29.4 million on the latest trading day, 20 October, and $205.8 million across the five days to that date. Decrypt reports that bitcoin ETFs have erased their October losses with $1 billion of inflows over three days, a figure that sits well above our own five-day total, so the two measures are clearly counting different windows. On holdings, we track 1,487,109 BTC in ETFs, with iShares Bitcoin Trust the largest at 811,478 BTC. Public companies hold 1,222,207 BTC, led by Strategy with 848,517.

On the network, block height is 972,667, with 77,333 blocks to the next halving, which we estimate will fall on 26 March 2028. Hashrate sits at 1,033 EH/s, and the next difficulty adjustment is expected to raise difficulty by 3.21%. Cointelegraph reports that bitcoin is circling its $81.5K ETF cost basis as Trump's Iran comments weigh on stocks. Bitcoin Magazine reports that China is moving to confiscate $5 billion in bitcoin from a fraudster who fled to the UK, and that the Blockchain Association is pressing Congress on crypto taxes as the Clarity Act stalls.