Bitcoin News Today: BTC/USD Holds Near $81,200 After Selloff

Market news Neutral bias Oct 13, 2026, 00:48 UTC

Marcus ReedTechnical Analysis Lead · ForexR analyst

Bitcoin sits between the S2 pivot at $81,005.41 and S1 at $81,986.61 after a 2.14% drop tied to reported long liquidations, with the daily pivot at $83,126.16 separating the bullish and bearish paths.

Long Liquidations Dominate the Newsflow

Several outlets are covering the same move from different angles. Tokenpost and Bitcoin.com both reported that roughly $406 million in long positions were liquidated as bitcoin broke below $82,000, while Crypto Briefing covered a related wave of crypto long liquidations tied to the same break, and Tokenpost separately noted sharp losses across several altcoins alongside it. On the other side of the coverage, Tokenpost pointed to on-chain indicators it described as early bottoming signs, and BeInCrypto looked at historical cycle data for when bitcoin might reclaim its record high. These are topics being reported in today's newsflow, not demonstrated drivers of the price action below.

Bitcoin's Price Action in the Asia Session

In the current Asia session, bitcoin last traded at $81,195.63, down $1,772.18, or 2.14%, on the day. The session has ranged between a low of $81,134.74 and a high of $82,825.99, a span of $1,691.25, which is about 81% of the 14-day Average True Range of $2,091.50 — a volatility context explained further in the ATR guide. Price is sitting between the S2 pivot at $81,005.41 and S1 at $81,986.61, closer to S2, which is $190.22 below, than to S1, which is $790.98 above.

Yesterday's session, October 12, opened at $83,580.67 and closed at $82,967.81, inside a $2,120.75 range between a high of $84,265.71 and a low of $82,144.96. The daily trend reads as mixed, with price still above its 200-day EMA at $75,535.13 and the 20-day EMA at $83,181.28 sitting above the 50-day EMA at $80,114.96, while daily RSI14 sits near the midpoint at 51.7. The shorter-term picture points the other way: the four-hour EMA20 at $82,839.19 sits below its EMA50 at $83,305.02, and the one-hour EMA20 at $82,602.67 sits below its EMA50 at $82,912.35. Bitcoin is also down 2.61% over five days and 5.85% over twenty days.

Levels to Watch

The nearest pivot levels bracket current price closely: resistance at S1, $81,986.61, and support at S2, $81,005.41. Above that sits the daily pivot at $83,126.16, R1 at $84,107.36, R2 at $85,246.91 and R3 at $86,228.11; below S2 sits S3 at $79,865.86. The previous day's high and low, $84,265.71 and $82,144.96, remain above current price, and the 5-day high also stands at $84,265.71 against a 5-day low of $80,315.22, which matches the 20-day low; the 20-day high is $87,272.32. Round levels at $81,000 below and $82,000 above sit close to the current print. A pivot point calculator can map this ladder against other timeframes.

Bullish and Bearish Scenarios

On the upside, clearing R1 at $84,107.36 would open the way toward R2 at $85,246.91, a path that would be invalidated by a move back below the daily pivot at $83,126.16. On the downside, a break under S2 at $81,005.41 would open the way toward S3 at $79,865.86, with a recovery back above that same daily pivot at $83,126.16 invalidating the bearish case. Working either scenario through a risk and reward calculator can help frame the distance between those triggers and targets.

What's on the Calendar

Today's US schedule includes Fed's Waller speech at 07:45 UTC, the ADP Employment Change four-week average at 12:15 UTC, Existing Home Sales (MoM) at 14:00 UTC, and the Monthly Budget Statement at 18:00 UTC, which carries an estimate of -28 against a previous reading of -166.8. Tomorrow brings the IMF Meeting at 00:00 UTC. The economic calendar guide covers how to track medium-impact releases like these across a session.

Positioning, Sentiment, and the Bottom Line

CFTC data as of the week to October 6, 2026 showed large speculators net long Bitcoin futures, with speculators adding to that net long Bitcoin (BTC/USD) position as net contracts rose to 2,540 from 2,465 a week earlier. Separately, news coverage volume sits at 48% of its 90-day average, and the opportunity read on BTC/USD has moved to -83, a bearish reading, after shifting from 3 to -50 within 24 hours; this reflects news tone and is not a forecast or a trading signal.

Bitcoin is consolidating between S2 at $81,005.41 and S1 at $81,986.61 after a 2.14% daily decline, with daily trend signals mixed against a down-sloping four-hour and one-hour picture. The daily pivot at $83,126.16 stands as the line that would invalidate either the bullish push toward R2 at $85,246.91 or the bearish extension toward S3 at $79,865.86, with Fed's Waller speech and several US data points due before the London session opens at 07:00 UTC.