Bitcoin Rises 0.99% on Oct 27, 2026 as Traders Eye Fed Decision

Bitcoin rose 0.99% to $80,799.51 over the UTC day of October 27, 2026, according to Coinbase daily data, recovering from an early dip to $79,365.93 as US spot bitcoin ETFs returned to inflows and traders waited for the Federal Reserve's decision on October 28.

Data as of: Coinbase Exchange daily candles for the UTC day of October 27, 2026 (00:00 to 24:00 UTC); CoinGecko global data at 00:11 UTC on October 28. The latest confirmed ETF flow data covers October 26.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin gained $790.72 (+0.99%) to $80,799.51 on Coinbase, trading between $79,365.93 and $81,182.00 during the UTC day.
• Ether rose $26.67 (+1.15%) to $2,347.01, and XRP led the large coins in our table with a 1.73% gain to $1.33.
• US spot bitcoin ETFs took in a net $110.34 million on October 26, all of it into BlackRock's IBIT, according to SoSoValue data reported by TokenPost.
• Strategy did not buy or sell any bitcoin between October 19 and 25 and still holds about 848,517 BTC, its SEC filing shows.
• TechFlow, citing CoinGlass, reported $123 million in 24-hour liquidations on October 27, split almost evenly between longs and shorts.

Session recap

Tuesday followed Monday's quiet session with a modest recovery. Bitcoin opened the UTC day at $80,008.79 on Coinbase, slipped to $79,365.93 in early trading, then climbed to an intraday high of $81,182.00 before closing near $80,800. For the wider picture, see Asian and global markets today and our October 26 crypto brief, which covers Monday's dip toward $79,255.

Changes are calculated from Coinbase's previous UTC daily closes on October 26: bitcoin $80,008.79, ether $2,320.34, solana $100.76 and XRP $1.3069 (October 27 XRP close: $1.3295). Dominance is compared with CoinGecko's 59.42% reading at 00:07 UTC on October 27. CoinGecko valued the total crypto market at $2.72 trillion at 00:11 UTC on October 28, up from $2.70 trillion a day earlier, with ether's share at 10.49% and 24-hour trading volume at $63.03 billion. Coinbase recorded 4,356.18 BTC traded on its BTC-USD market during the day, compared with 6,746.32 BTC on Monday.

Ether traded between $2,293.58 and $2,360.92 on Coinbase. Bitcoin Magazine, using Bitcoin Magazine Pro data, described bitcoin's range for most of the week as roughly $79,000 to $81,000, with $80,000 acting as "the market's line in the sand."

What drove it

Waiting for the Fed

The Federal Open Market Committee began its two-day meeting on October 27, and its decision is due on October 28, according to the Fed's calendar. The Fed's target range stands at 3.75% to 4.00% after a hike in September, Bitcoin Magazine reported, and officials have signalled that another increase may be needed by year-end. Analytics Insight reported that traders largely expect rates to stay unchanged this week, so attention is on the statement's language and on Chair Kevin Warsh's comments about December. Bitcoin Magazine noted that "higher rates drain liquidity from speculative assets." For background, see how Fed rate decisions affect bitcoin.

ETF flows

US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of $110.34 million on October 26, ending two sessions of withdrawals, according to SoSoValue data reported by TokenPost. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was the only one of the 12 funds with an inflow. Total net assets across the funds stood at $102.84 billion, and cumulative net inflows at $57.29 billion. Analytics Insight, also citing SoSoValue, put October's net outflows at about $202 million through Monday. Flow data for the October 27 US session had not been confirmed when this brief was written. Our explainer on bitcoin ETF flows covers how these figures are compiled.

Strategy pauses its buying

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, said in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26 that it "did not purchase or sell any bitcoin" from October 19 to 25. The company holds approximately 848,517 BTC bought for $64.02 billion, an average of about $75,446 per coin. During the same week it used $204.9 million in cash to buy back 2,068,459 shares of its STRC preferred stock. The filing does not explain the pause. Investing.com had reported earlier that corporate bitcoin treasury firms face pressure to balance purchases against financing costs.

Leverage

Forced selling was lighter than on Monday. TechFlow, citing CoinGlass, reported $123 million in liquidations across 62,612 traders over 24 hours as of 15:18 UTC on October 27, with $61.51 million from long positions and $61.22 million from shorts. Bitcoin and ether each accounted for about $23 million. The largest single liquidation was a $1.85 million short on Hyperliquid's BTC-USD pair, closed at $80,700. Totals vary with the time window; our guide to crypto liquidations explains why.

Altcoins and Ripple's bank charter

XRP outperformed after Ripple announced on October 26 that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had granted final approval for its national trust bank, Banking Dive reported. The charter covers digital-asset custody and management of the reserves backing Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, but not deposit-taking or commercial lending. Chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty said the approval reflects a choice to "build within the regulatory perimeter, not around it." The charter gives XRP itself no formal role, so how much the news contributed to the coin's gain has not been confirmed. Ether and solana also ended the day higher.

Political & policy watch

• Federal Reserve. The October 27–28 FOMC meeting is not one of the meetings with a Summary of Economic Projections; the next one with projections is December 8–9, according to the Fed's calendar.
• US bank charters for crypto firms. The OCC's final approval for Ripple follows a conditional approval granted nearly a year earlier to Ripple and four other crypto firms, Banking Dive reported.
• US midterms and market-structure law. The November 3 midterm elections could affect the stalled CLARITY Act, Bitcoin Magazine reported. It said TD Cowen sees a Democratic sweep of both chambers as the most negative outcome for bitcoin and a Republican sweep as the most positive, and that the bill stalled after a failed Senate cloture vote in September.
• Energy prices. Brent crude has stayed elevated amid the Iran war, adding to inflation concerns, Investing.com reported; Coinspeaker put Brent near $110 a barrel on October 26.

What to watch next

• October 28 (Wednesday): FOMC rate decision, followed by Chair Warsh's press conference, Bitcoin Magazine reported.
• October 29 (Thursday), 12:30 UTC: US third-quarter GDP (advance estimate) and September personal income and outlays, including the PCE price index, per the BEA release schedule. Coinbase and Strategy are also due to report earnings that day, according to Coinspeaker.
• October 30 (Friday), 08:00 UTC: Monthly bitcoin options expiry covering about 135,700 BTC, roughly $10.9 billion, according to Coinspeaker.
• November 3 (Tuesday): US midterm elections.
• November 4 (Wednesday), 13:30 UTC: US international trade data for September, per the BEA schedule (after US clocks change on November 1).

Risk checklist for readers

• Central bank days are volatile. Prices can swing sharply in both directions around a Fed statement and press conference.
• ETF flows lag and get revised. Daily figures describe the previous US trading day, and early reports from different providers can disagree.
• Corporate filings are weekly snapshots. A company's 8-K covers a fixed window and may not reflect activity since then.
• Liquidation data depends on timing. Compare 24-hour totals only when they come from the same provider and time window.
• Options expiries can add volatility. Large expiries can affect hedging activity in the days before settlement.
• Leverage cuts both ways. Borrowed positions magnify losses and can be closed automatically after small price moves.
• Exchange prices differ. Closes vary slightly across exchanges and data providers, so check which source a figure comes from.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.