Is Bitcoin's Loss of $81,000 Support the Start of a New Bear Market?

Video: Bitcoin Loses Major $81,000 Support, Bear Market Returns? Key Levels To Trade

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Oct 30, 2026 · based on the channel Gareth Soloway

Bitcoin has lost its $81,000 support, but the breakdown is not confirmed yet. Because the move happened over a weekend on thin liquidity, the level that matters is whether institutional buyers step in and push price back above $81,000 by Monday. If that does not happen, the next downside target is $75,500, and the odds of a deeper correction rise sharply.

What happened to Bitcoin this weekend

The sequence into the breakdown was straightforward. Bitcoin sold off alongside equities on Thursday, paused on Friday, then flushed on Saturday to just above $79,000. That took price through $81,000, the level Gareth Soloway, Chief Market Strategist at VerifiedInvesting.com, had been flagging for two weeks as the line in the sand.

The important nuance is that weekend moves in crypto happen on thinner order books. Fewer participants, wider spreads and less institutional flow mean a Saturday flush can be reversed by Monday's open just as easily as it can extend. That is why the breakdown is described as unconfirmed rather than decisive: the market has to vote with real volume during the week.

Key Bitcoin levels to trade

Three prices frame the current setup, and each one has a clear job.

1. $81,000 — the pivot. This is the broken support. A daily close back above it would neutralize the breakdown and turn the weekend flush into a stop run.
2. $75,500 — the downside target. If Bitcoin fails to reclaim $81,000 by Monday, this is the next level where buyers are likely to be tested.
3. $87,200 — the overhead resistance. Any recovery rally has to deal with this level before the chart can be called constructive again.

The practical takeaway is that the risk/reward is defined by these three numbers. Trading in the middle of the range between $75,500 and $81,000 offers little edge; the decisions happen at the edges.

Why the Monday deadline matters

Monday is the confirmation test. If Bitcoin is not back above $81,000 by then, the probability of a move to $75,500 is high, because the weekend sellers will have been validated by institutional flow rather than contradicted by it.

There is a second variable: geopolitics. A weekend escalation in the Middle East matters for crypto specifically because Bitcoin is the one market open when traders want to de-risk. Traditional equities, bonds and most FX desks are closed, so capital that needs to move fast uses crypto as the liquidity source. That dynamic can produce sharp, headline-driven selling that has nothing to do with Bitcoin's own fundamentals — and equally sharp reversals once the traditional markets reopen.

Ethereum, Solana and the altcoin buy zones

Ethereum is testing a key trend line that has already been touched nine times, which makes it a well-watched decision point rather than a random level. The buy zone is $2,000 to $1,950, a retest of the old breakout. Buyers who missed the original move get a second chance there, but only if the trend line holds.

Solana is sitting near a $97 to $95 buy zone, with a second level around $84 if the first one fails. The chart also carries a head and shoulders risk — a pattern that, if it completes, argues for the lower zone rather than a quick bounce. That is a reason to scale in small rather than commit fully at the first level.

Zcash has a buy level at $680 to $700, which activates if support breaks. Hyperliquid sits on a long-term trend line with a buy level near $68 to $67. In both cases the approach is accumulation of small positions at predefined levels, not chasing strength.

HBAR is a different case: a small position was already added there, and the chart is being watched rather than traded aggressively.

Typical questions from traders right now

Viewers of the breakdown raise a consistent set of concerns. The first is whether a weekend move can be trusted at all. The answer is that it should be treated as information, not as a signal — the weekday reaction is what confirms or invalidates it.

The second is what to do with altcoins when Bitcoin is undecided. The honest answer is that most altcoin levels only matter if Bitcoin stabilizes; a continued Bitcoin slide toward $75,500 will drag the entire complex lower, and buy zones will need to be re-evaluated rather than defended blindly.

The third is psychological: many traders worry about missing the move. That concern is misplaced. Missed trades do not matter, because there is always another setup, and chasing a coin because it is moving turns the trader into the casino rather than the player. The best trades come to you — you set the level, you wait, and you act only if price arrives.

A related rule is never to fall in love with a coin. A chart that reads 50/50 is not a trade; it is a reason to stay on the sidelines until the probabilities tilt. Discipline in crypto is mostly the discipline of not acting.

What to watch next

• Whether Bitcoin closes a daily candle above $81,000 or below it.
• Whether institutional volume arrives on Monday or the weekend selling continues.
• Whether Ethereum holds its nine-touch trend line at $2,000 to $1,950.
• Whether Solana's head and shoulders pattern completes toward $84.
• Whether Zcash reaches $680 to $700 and Hyperliquid reaches $68 to $67.

Summary

Bitcoin's break below $81,000 is a warning, not yet a confirmed bear market. The market has until Monday to reclaim the level; if it fails, $75,500 becomes the high-probability target, with $87,200 as the resistance any recovery must clear. Altcoin plans are already mapped — Ethereum at $2,000 to $1,950, Solana at $97 to $95 and $84, Zcash at $680 to $700, Hyperliquid near $68 to $67 — but they depend on Bitcoin finding its footing first. The full video breakdown with these levels is published on the Gareth Soloway channel.

Source: Bitcoin Loses Major $81,000 Support, Bear Market Returns? Key Levels To Trade · Markdown version