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Bitcoin Slide, Chip Costs Squeeze Exposed Firms

Businesses holding bitcoin or buying memory chips and oil should review exposure as prices move against them.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Economic Indicators

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Bitcoin fell for a fifth straight week to about $76,500 as Apple warned that memory chip costs and AI serving expenses were squeezing its margins. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Bitcoin is on course for its fifth consecutive weekly decline, falling from around $87,000 to roughly $76,500 across weeks 40 to 44. The slide comes as markets weigh technology-stock pressure and geopolitical tensions ahead of Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections.

Why it matters

For businesses that accept, hold, or price in bitcoin, the sustained drop raises questions about treasury values and customer payment volumes. Reports of U.S. strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island on the eve of the midterm vote are adding to broader market pressure.

Bitcoin has dropped roughly 12% from $87,000 to $76,868.13 over five weeks, a losing run that matches the length of its six-week streak earlier this year but falls short of the eight-week streak in 2022. Apple's shares are down around 5% premarket even though the company beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations.

The players

Apple

Apple is a consumer electronics and services company valued at just under $5 trillion, whose business depends heavily on hardware margins and a growing AI services layer.

The details

Apple's earnings warning cited an unprecedented rise in memory chip prices and the cost of serving its AI tools, pointing to pressure on its margins despite the revenue beat. Bitcoin's weekly losses have compounded over the period, and precious metals reversed Monday's gains as markets absorbed technology-stock weakness and geopolitical news.

Timeline

  1. Weeks 14 to 21, 2022: Bitcoin's longest eight-week losing streak.

  2. Weeks 3 to 8, 2026: Bitcoin's six consecutive weekly losses earlier this year.

  3. Weeks 40 to 44, 2026: Bitcoin's decline from about $87,000 to $76,500.

  4. Monday, November 2, 2026: Apple beats fiscal fourth-quarter earnings expectations.

  5. Tuesday, November 3, 2026: U.S. midterm elections.

Market Landscape

The current five-week bitcoin slide is shorter than its eight-week losing streak in 2022 but comes on the heels of a six-week run earlier this year. Those repeated weekly losses sit alongside Apple's warning about memory chip costs, which points to a broader squeeze on margins across technology-linked markets.

Businesses holding bitcoin on their balance sheets should review how the continuing decline affects reported asset values with their accountant. Operators whose input costs depend on oil or memory chips should watch for price pass-through as crude rebounds and chip costs rise.

The takeaway

Operators should track weekly bitcoin closes and crude benchmarks as the midterm vote approaches and set aside time to review any exposure with qualified advisers. Watch whether Apple's margin warning spreads to other hardware makers that rely on the same memory chip supply.

What happens next

Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections fall on November 3, 2026, and the outcome may shape the market reaction that follows.

Further reading

For broader context on how these price moves fit into the wider economy, see Economic Indicators.

Source note: This article includes information reported by CoinDesk.

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