Bitcoin Went Nowhere. Ether Funds Kept Leaking.

Bitcoin ended the week close to where it began.

The path ran through a hot inflation report, two leverage flushes and a dip below $80,000.

Bitcoin traded near $83,100 early Monday. It traded near $82,800 at 7:25 a.m. Eastern Friday. Ether lost more ground, to near $2,480 from about $2,540.

The setup changed under the flat price. Fund buyers came and went on alternating days. Corporate buyers spent more on their own stock than on coins. Bitcoin traded with Asian chip stocks one night and with Treasuries the next morning.

Here are the six forces that drove crypto this week.

Fund Money Came and Went

U.S. spot bitcoin funds lost a net $146 million from Monday through Thursday, based on Farside's daily data. Ether funds lost about $250 million.

The bitcoin days swung back and forth. All of Monday's $65.4 million outflow came from BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Tuesday brought in $175.7 million, led by $103.1 million at Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC). Wednesday took out $261.4 million. Thursday's net was $5.1 million.

Ether's flows mostly ran one way. Ether funds posted a 10th straight day of outflows on Monday. They ended the streak on Tuesday with $24.8 million, while BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) recorded no flow. Then they lost $129.5 million Wednesday, $109.8 million of it at BlackRock's fund, and $60.3 million Thursday.

The week before, bitcoin funds lost about $680 million, SoSoValue data showed.

Price Held, Money Didn't Commit

Bitcoin finished near Monday's level while its funds lost money on balance. The outflows slowed from the prior week but did not turn. Ether's funds lost money on three of four days, and its price lagged. A real turn needs money arriving on more than one day.

Inflation Ran Hot, and the Hike Bet Faded

Core consumer prices rose 0.3% in September, above the 0.2% forecast. Bitcoin fell to near $82,700 after Wednesday's 8:30 a.m. report, from about $83,800 just before it.

Kalshi's October hike contract jumped from 18 cents to 55 within 40 minutes. It stood at 33 cents after the stock market closed.

Thursday's report ran hotter. Producer prices jumped 1.3%, more than twice the forecast. Long-term Treasury yields fell anyway. The 10-year traded near 5.05%, a three-week low.

Bitcoin fell to about $79,700 shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday as stocks added to early losses. That was its first trade below $80,000 since Sept. 18. It was back near $82,500 by late morning as yields fell.

Late Thursday, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh declined to preview the Oct. 27-28 meeting. Kalshi's October contract halved by dawn, trading at 14 cents at 4:42 a.m. Friday.

Bonds Mattered More Than the Print

Hot data did not keep yields high for long. Bitcoin recovered as they fell. An asset that pays no interest gained as the hike bet faded. The Fed's quiet period starts Saturday, so the next signal is the Oct. 28 decision.

Bitcoin Traded With Chip Stocks

CoinGlass counted about $800 million of crypto liquidations in the 24 hours to early Tuesday. About 86% were bets on higher prices. Bitcoin fell to around $81,000 overnight and was back near $83,300 Tuesday morning.

The flush reached past coins. SanDisk futures on crypto exchanges lost more to liquidations than XRP. Perpetual futures tied to SanDisk (SNDK) shares lost about $19.1 million, edging out XRP's $18.8 million. Korea's Kospi fell 5.46% and tripped a trading curb that day as memory-chip stocks sank.

It happened again Wednesday night. Fed hike fears faded overnight. Bitcoin fell anyway. It slipped below $81,000 as Asian chip stocks slid, and the Kospi fell 7.6% Thursday.

CoinGlass counted about $950 million of liquidations in the 24 hours to early Thursday. Ether's $286 million topped bitcoin's $197 million, though ether's futures market is smaller.

A Second Clock Beside Rates

Twice this week, overnight chip selling and a crypto flush came together. The second time, rate fears were easing. Asian trading hours now matter beside U.S. data. Ether carried more of the forced selling for its size.

Corporate Buyers Turned to Their Own Paper

Strategy put preferred buybacks ahead of bitcoin. Strategy (MSTR) bought 250 bitcoin for $21.5 million, its Monday filing showed. It spent $192.4 million, about nine times as much, retiring its STRC preferred stock.

BitMine (BMNR) holds about 6.03 million ether, near its 5% supply target. It called itself "largely finished" buying. SkyAI sold about half its Solana to help fund a tender offer.

Metaplanet is raising ¥52 billion in convertible bonds, and none of it will buy bitcoin.

Strive (ASST) kept buying, but its route narrowed. Its warrants are done, after funding 2,822 bitcoin. It then priced 15% perpetual preferred at $90, below its $100 stated value. That means Strive is paying about 16.7% to raise about $630 million before fees.

K33 estimated that STRC's growth this year added about $725 million to Strategy's annual preferred dividend bill.

Buying Now Depends on Financing

The biggest bitcoin buyer bought back its own paper. Ether's biggest buyer is nearly done. The most active buyer is paying about 16.7% for new money. Corporate demand looks like a string of funding choices, not a steady weekly bid.

Crypto Stocks Moved Several Times as Far

On Wednesday, bitcoin slipped 2%. The median crypto stock fell about four times as far. Coinbase (COIN) lost 4.9% and Strategy 5.9%. MARA (MARA) fell 9.7% and IREN (IREN) 12.2%. The iShares Bitcoin Trust slipped 1.9%.

Thursday ran the other way. Circle (CRCL) rose about 9%, Coinbase about 6% and Strategy more than 5% as bitcoin recovered.

After Thursday's close, MSCI drew its line on bitcoin-treasury companies. "Non-operating companies" will be ineligible for its global indexes from the Nov. 30 close. The final list comes Nov. 11. Current members leave only if they fail the test in each of their last two annual filings.

MSCI's earlier test run flagged Strategy and Metaplanet. Strategy traded about 3% lower at 7:25 a.m. Friday.

The Stocks Carry Extra Weight

Crypto stocks carry bitcoin's moves plus their own funding and index risk. They fell further Wednesday and rose further Thursday. MSCI's list on Nov. 11 is now the dated test for the treasury names.

Stablecoins Got a Supervisor and Live Uses

Europe named USDC its first 'significant' stablecoin. Europe's banking regulator takes over supervision of its reserves and capital on Nov. 12. USDC is the first of 45 e-money tokens in the EU to get the label. Circle fell 5.6% Wednesday.

A day later, three deals moved stablecoins out of pilot and into production. Visa (V) said businesses can now prefund cross-border payouts through Visa Direct with USDC. Cross River Bank built Ripple's RLUSD into its core banking system, in limited states. Ripple Prime began 24/7 swaps that reference contracts listed on Hyperliquid.

None of the companies disclosed volumes. Crypto stocks rallied broadly Thursday, so Circle's gain cannot be tied to the Visa news.

Rules and Rails in the Same Week

USDC now has a bank supervisor in Europe and a start date. Payment firms put stablecoins into live systems a day later. Volumes will show whether use follows the rules.