Bitcoin (BTC) sought to avoid fresh losses on Friday as crypto markets digested reports of an exploit affecting Ledger hardware wallets.
Key points:
- Bitcoin rebounded from local lows of $80,350 to reclaim $83,000 at the Wall Street open.
- Crypto markets avoided significant selling pressure following reports of funds being stolen from Ledger hardware wallet users.
- BTC/USD continued to trade around $82,500 as traders looked ahead to the weekly close.
BTC price rebounds to $83,000 despite Ledger theft reports
Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD hovering around the key $82,500 support level on Friday.
BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
After dropping to $80,350 on Thursday, BTC/USD saw fresh buyer interest as rolling 24-hour crypto liquidations passed $1 billion.
The latest data from CoinGlass showed spot price cutting through ask-side liquidity on exchange order books, with that liquidity thickening around $84,000.
BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass
US stocks opened higher Friday as technology shares rebounded from selling earlier in the week. The recovery included the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, which CNBC reported had come under pressure following weaker-than-expected earnings projections from OpenAI.
“The sell-off reflected extreme positioning imbalances that have further to unwind in our view, which is why the whole AI-linked tech stock complex is unlikely to simply stage a sharp, V-shaped rebound,” the publication quoted Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge as commenting.
Crypto markets appeared to brush off reports of funds being stolen from Ledger hardware wallet users. In an X post, Ledger acknowledged the claims and linked them to CryptoBillis, a reseller based in Southeast Asia.
“If you have set up your Ledger device, consider moving assets to a new Ledger signer (with new seed),” it advised.
Crypto hardware wallets have faced increased security scrutiny in recent months after manufacturer Coldcard suffered a multi-phase hack in July and August.
US macro data seen as next BTC price volatility catalyst
Bitcoin traders were increasingly focused on the upcoming weekly candle close.
As Cointelegraph reported, $82,500 remained a key level for bulls to reclaim, having served as support since mid-September. The level also formed part of a potential inverse head-and-shoulders reversal pattern similar to one that emerged in 2023.
On Wednesday, Bitfinex Alpha, the research arm of crypto exchange Bitfinex, forecast range-bound trading conditions continuing until Oct. 14, when fresh US inflation data is due for release.
“Our primary outlook anticipates range-bound consolidation between $81,300 and $86,500 heading into the 14 October US CPI data, with repeated retests of $84,000,” it wrote in a blog post.
Related: Binance BTC outflows hit highest since mid-2023 as whales deposit stablecoins