Bitcoin drops below $80,000 as crypto ignores Asian tech rally, Fed meeting begins

Bitcoin BTC $84,459.46 slipped below $80,000 on Tuesday, dropping 0.4% since midnight UTC to near $79,700. Altcoins fell further, with ether ETH $2,490.55 , the largest, losing 0.5%. The DeFi index (DFX) dropped 1.8%, the most of any CoinDesk index, a reversal from Monday, when it was the only index to gain. U.S. stock index futures edged lower ahead of big-tech earnings later this week. Asian tech shares rallied, with South Korea’s Kospi rising 3.1%, though the advance didn’t pull crypto along with it. Oil rose, with U.S. crude approaching $102 a barrel.