Bitcoin Loses $81,000 Support As Bear Risk Builds

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 lost its $81,000 support over the weekend, flushing to just above $79,000, but the breakdown is not yet confirmed. According to Gareth Soloway, Chief Market Strategist at VerifiedInvesting.com, the level only becomes a real bear-market signal if Bitcoin fails to reclaim $81,000 by Monday, in which case the next downside target is $75,500. Until institutional money shows up on Monday, the move is a weekend liquidity event, not a verdict.

The setup matters for anyone trading crypto right now because Bitcoin is the only market open when traders want to de-risk, and thin weekend order books exaggerate moves in both directions.

How Bitcoin lost the $81,000 level

The path down was a three-step sequence rather than a single crash. Bitcoin sold off alongside stocks on Thursday, paused on Friday, then flushed on Saturday to just above $79,000, taking out the $81,000 floor Soloway had flagged for the prior two weeks.

Key reference points on the chart:

1. $87,200 — overhead resistance that capped the prior bounce.
2. $81,000 — the broken support that now acts as the confirmation line.
3. $79,000 — the weekend low, printed on thin liquidity.
4. $75,500 — the next downside target if $81,000 is not reclaimed.

The distinction between a confirmed breakdown and a weekend wick is the whole argument. Weekend moves happen when books are thin and market makers widen spreads; the same move can reverse within minutes once deeper liquidity returns. That is why Soloway wants Monday's institutional flow as evidence before treating the bear case as active.

Why the Monday deadline decides the bear case

A reclaim of $81,000 by Monday would neutralize the breakdown and keep the range intact. If Bitcoin is still below that level when institutional desks return, Soloway assigns a high probability to a slide toward $75,500 — roughly 7% below the weekend low and about 4% below the $79,000 print.

Geopolitics adds a second variable. A weekend escalation in the Middle East is precisely the kind of headline that forces de-risking, and crypto is the only liquid market trading at that hour. Traders who want to cut exposure on a Saturday or Sunday can only sell crypto, which is why Bitcoin often absorbs panic flow that would otherwise hit equities or oil futures. That dynamic can produce a move that looks technical but is really event-driven — and it can unwind just as fast once traditional markets reopen.

Ethereum buy zone at $2,000 to $1,950

Ethereum has touched a key trend line nine times, and that repeated test is the basis for the trade plan. Soloway marks a buy zone at $2,000 to $1,950, which lines up with a retest of the old breakout level.

A retest of a prior breakout is a standard continuation setup: the price that once capped the market becomes support if the move was genuine. The nine touches matter because a trend line tested that many times is well established, but it also means the line is widely watched — a clean break below it would flip the setup from accumulation zone to warning sign. Position sizing should reflect that the zone is a range, not a single price.

Solana, Zcash and Hyperliquid levels to watch

Solana is trading near a buy zone of $97 to $95, with a second level around $84 if the first fails. Soloway is also watching a head-and-shoulders pattern on the chart, a bearish formation that would gain validity if the neckline gives way; that risk is the reason the lower level exists in the plan.

Zcash has a buy level at $680 to $700, activated only if support breaks — a pullback entry rather than a chase. Hyperliquid sits on a long-term trend line with a buy level near $68 to $67, making the trend line the deciding factor between a bounce and a deeper correction.

The common thread across all four names is that every level is defined before the trade, not after. That is the practical difference between accumulating small positions into support and averaging down into a falling market.

HBAR, 50/50 charts and why patience pays

HBAR is the one name where Soloway added to a small existing position rather than waiting for a fresh signal. The rest of the tape is less clear: Bitcoin itself reads close to 50/50 on his framework, which is why he stays on the sidelines instead of forcing a directional bet.

A 50/50 chart is not a trade — it is a coin flip with fees attached. Sitting out costs nothing, while a low-conviction entry costs capital and attention. The same logic explains why he keeps position sizes small when accumulating altcoins into support: the levels are probabilistic, and the goal is to survive being wrong.

Discipline rules for trading a breakdown

Three rules carry the update, and none of them require a prediction. First, never fall in love with a coin: a chart is a probability map, not an identity, and every asset that ever rallied has also broken down. Second, missed trades do not matter — there is always another setup, and chasing one that has already left the zone turns a planned entry into an emotional one. Third, the best trades come to you: define the level, set the size, and let price do the work.

Soloway frames the same idea with a dating analogy that resonated with viewers — you do not chase someone who is not interested, and you do not marry the first chart that winks at you. Applied to crypto, it means the $75,500 target, the $2,000 Ethereum zone and the $97 to $95 Solana band are all pre-written plans waiting for price, not reactions to headlines.

What viewers are asking about this setup

The most common thread in the feedback is how to apply these levels as a beginner. The honest answer is that levels are only half the job; the other half is size. A $2,000 to $1,950 Ethereum zone is meaningless if a single entry uses the whole account, because a move to the lower end of the range would force an exit at the worst moment. Scaling in thirds — one entry at the top of the zone, one at the middle, one at the bottom — keeps the average near the middle and the psychology intact.

The second recurring question is whether a weekend breakdown can be trusted at all. It can be watched, but it should not be sized as if confirmed. The Monday close above or below $81,000 is the filter, and the market will provide that answer without any guessing.

Conclusion

Bitcoin's break below $81,000 is a warning, not a confirmed bear market, and Monday's session is the arbiter: reclaim the level and the range survives, fail and $75,500 comes into play. Ethereum at $2,000 to $1,950, Solana at $97 to $95, Zcash at $680 to $700 and Hyperliquid near $68 to $67 give a full map of where accumulation makes sense if the weakness continues. The discipline rules — no love for a coin, no regret over missed trades, let setups come to you — matter more than any single level. This breakdown was published by Gareth Soloway on his YouTube channel, where the full chart walkthrough and trade levels are laid out.

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