Bitcoin Returns to $80K as US Stocks Rally After Midterm Sweep
Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000 and pushed past $80,500 at Wednesday's Wall Street open, up more than 4%, as S&P 500 futures reversed from 7,490 and US stocks surged after Democrats swept the midterms. Oil slid on hopes of an end to the US-Iran war.
$80,500. Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed $80,000 at Wednesday's Wall Street open and pushed past that level, up more than 4%, as US stocks surged after Democrats swept the midterm elections.
TradingView data showed BTC/USD rebounding from its lowest level in seven weeks. Two days earlier, on Nov. 2, Bitcoin was holding near $78,462, with $76,270 flagged as the key level.
Equities did the heavy lifting. S&P 500 futures dropped as low as 7,490, their weakest since July 31, then reversed to 7,690, approaching new month-to-date highs. Nasdaq-100 futures had fallen as much as 2.4% overnight. The turn came after Trump accepted the results. In early trading the S&P 500 gained 1.2%, the Nasdaq 1.1% and the Dow more than 1,100 points, or 2.3%.
The Kobeissi Letter wrote on X that the initial weakness was a "textbook bear trap," noting Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and 25 House seats.
What drove the reversal
Oil fell hard. WTI crude slipped below $93 a barrel, down as much as 11.9% on the week, while Brent approached sub-$100 for the first time since Oct. 7. The drop tracks hopes of an end to the US-Iran war, and Trump conceded the conflict was partly to blame for Republican losses. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted that voters "said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message."
Other drivers: expected gridlock, with Democrats controlling Congress and Trump holding veto power, plus falling Treasury yields and strong earnings. Solar stocks led. First Solar rose 15.1%, Enphase Energy 12.1%. Historically, US stocks have gained an average of 15% in the year after midterms.
Caveats for Bitcoin
Not everyone sees the election as the main catalyst for crypto. James Butterfill of CoinShares said:
"For Bitcoin, real yields, dollar liquidity and ETP flows still carry more weight than the elections"
Iran is the other swing factor. Economist Robin Brooks has questioned whether Trump will dial back or escalate the war, which leaves the oil and risk-asset picture uncertain.
A Democratic House was no surprise. Kalshi priced it at roughly 94% before the vote, and our earlier analysis flagged that a Democratic Congress could shift crypto policy from legislation toward investigations and reset the CLARITY Act timetable.
If Butterfill is right, holding $80,000 comes down to yields, liquidity and ETP flows, not Washington.
