Bitcoin Holds $76K as Stocks Price in US Political Gridlock

Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $77,600 during Tuesday’s Wall Street open, gaining approximately 0.7% and maintaining Friday’s local low near $76,300, according to TradingView data cited by Cointelegraph. Price volatility cooled as investors awaited cues from the US midterm elections, while technology stocks rebounded from Monday’s losses.

Equities faced conflicting signals. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed Monday down 0.5% and 1.1%, respectively. Apple shares sought to pare a 4% premarket decline after the company forecast December-quarter gross margins of 45% to 46%, down from 47.9% in the previous quarter, citing rising memory-chip costs.

The midterms became the market’s central focus. Analysts at The Kobeissi Letter said investors were pricing in a major shift in the US political landscape, potentially producing a divided Congress, legislative impasses and two years of policy uncertainty. Tobin Marcus, head of US policy and politics at Wolfe Research, told CNBC that investors were skeptical polls would deliver the expected Democratic gains and that the surveys were likely overstating Democratic strength.

Oil prices introduced another geopolitical factor. West Texas Intermediate crude fell to $93.59 per barrel, its lowest level since October 15, despite fresh US strikes targeting Iran’s Qeshm Island. For Bitcoin, the immediate question is whether the $76,300 support area can hold as election uncertainty and conflicting economic signals continue to influence risk assets.