Crypto Market Recap Sep 23: Bitcoin Falls Under $85,000 USD as Treasury Yields Hit a 2026 High
Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $85,000 USD on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, changing hands at $84,296.16 USD as of a 5:05pm ET snapshot, down 2.18% from the previous close of $86,172.28 USD. The decline came alongside a move in the bond market: the US 10-year Treasury yield touched 5.11%, its highest level of 2026.
Because crypto trades continuously, the numbers below are a snapshot at a specific timestamp, not a market close. Every price reference to Wednesday reflects that 5:05pm ET reading unless stated otherwise.
The snapshot
| Asset | Snapshot | Previous close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $84,296.16 USD | $86,172.28 USD | -2.18% |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $118,725.98 CAD | $121,222.85 CAD | -2.06% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $2,672.60 USD | $2,752.63 USD | -2.91% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $3,762.38 CAD | $3,872.27 CAD | -2.84% |
Measured in US dollars, Bitcoin fell 2.18% on the day. Measured in Canadian dollars, the decline was 2.06%. Those two figures come from the same snapshot at the same timestamp and are consistent with each other. A Canadian holder lost about 12 basis points less than the US-dollar figure implies, because the Canadian dollar was slightly weaker against the US dollar over the same window. That gap is not a hedge and it is not meaningful protection; it is 12 basis points.
Hour by hour
Bitcoin’s session, tracked in Toronto time, was a drift followed by one break. The overnight period opened near its high for the day: the 00:00 hour touched $87,280.83 USD, which held as the day’s peak. From there the price drifted lower through the overnight and European hours, with the 04:00 hour closing at $85,901.81 and the 08:00 hour closing at $85,482.10. A small bounce carried the 09:00 hour close to $85,780.18 as US equity markets opened.
The break came in the 10:00 hour, when Bitcoin ranged from a high of $85,921.22 down to a low of $83,855.78, a swing of roughly $2,065 inside sixty minutes. The day’s low followed two hours later, $83,548.34 USD during the 12:00 hour. From 13:00 through 18:00, Bitcoin closed six straight hours inside a narrow band of roughly $84,200 to $84,570, with hourly closes of $84,316.16, $84,313.00, $84,522.35, $84,235.61, $84,399.35 and $84,447.45.
The shape of the day was a slow overnight bleed, one break when the US cash session opened, and six hours of little movement after that.
Why: a bond market move
| Tenor | Sep 22 | Sep 23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-year | 4.71% | 4.85% | +14 bps |
| 10-year | 4.96% | 5.11% | +15 bps |
| 30-year | 5.29% | 5.40% | +11 bps |
All three tenors closed Wednesday at their highest levels of 2026, based on the US Department of the Treasury’s daily par yield curve rates. The 10-year’s prior 2026 high was 5.01%, set on both September 16 and September 18, so Wednesday’s 5.11% cleared that previous peak by 10 basis points.
The move showed up across asset classes, not only in crypto. The TSX closed at 35,751.43, down 1.61% the same day. Gold futures on the December contract (GCZ26.CMX) settled at $4,322.60 USD, down 1.23%, which is worth noting because gold and Bitcoin are both non-yielding assets competing against a 5.11% government bond yield; seeing them fall together points to the same cause. The US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB) stood at 101.121. Among individual equities, Alphabet fell 4.0% and Shopify fell 3.49% on the day.
There is no crypto-specific trigger behind Wednesday’s decline in the data available: no exchange event, no filing, no ETF news. The cause that can be established is a broad repricing of what government debt pays, with Bitcoin selling off in company with gold, equities and other assets that do not pay a coupon.
For Canadian readers, the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate stands at 2.25%, with its next decision scheduled for October 28, 2026. The rate that actually moved crypto and gold on Wednesday is the US 10-year yield, the global discount rate that non-yielding assets compete against, not Canadian policy.
The crypto equities
| Stock | Sep 22 close | Sep 23 close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy (MSTR) | $167.33 USD | $162.20 USD | -3.07% |
| Coinbase (COIN) | $201.07 USD | $198.13 USD | -1.46% |
| CleanSpark (CLSK) | $15.14 USD | $14.46 USD | -4.49% |
| Riot Platforms (RIOT) | $24.93 USD | $24.69 USD | -0.96% |
| Robinhood (HOOD) | $124.25 USD | $122.70 USD | -1.25% |
Crypto-linked equities split rather than moving as a block on Wednesday. Strategy (MSTR) fell 3.07% and CleanSpark (CLSK) fell 4.49%, both losing more than Bitcoin’s 2.18% decline. Coinbase (COIN) fell 1.46% and Riot Platforms (RIOT) fell 0.96%, both losing less than Bitcoin itself. Robinhood (HOOD) fell 1.25%, in between.
With Strategy losing more than three times what Riot lost on the same trading day, the more useful question for a Canadian investor is not which stock moved most on any single Wednesday, but which listed vehicle actually carries the most Bitcoin exposure per share. That comparison is broken down in Canadian crypto stocks ranked on Bitcoin per share.
Ethereum underperformed
Ethereum (ETH) fell further than Bitcoin on the day, down 2.91% against Bitcoin’s 2.18%. The ETH/BTC ratio moved from 0.031943 at the previous close to 0.031705 at the snapshot, a decline of 0.75%. That makes three consecutive sessions of decline in the ratio, from 0.032572 on September 20 to 0.032060 on September 21 and 0.031943 on September 22.
Ethereum’s stalled run against Bitcoin was the subject of a piece published at 7:12am ET the same morning, which noted that seven of the eight comparable stalls in the ratio since 2017 ended lower 30 days on. Nine hours later the ratio fell again. That is one day inside a stall that is still running rather than a resolution of it, so it does not add a case to that tally. It is an observation consistent with the pattern, not evidence for it.
Where this sits
Bitcoin’s recent daily closes: $75,612.51 on September 15 (the recent low close), $80,901.46 on September 18, $86,602.91 on September 21 (the highest close since January), and $86,172.28 on September 22.
Bitcoin has given back roughly $2,300 from Monday’s close of $86,602.91, its highest close since January, and remains up roughly $8,700 from the September 15 low close of $75,612.51. The 2026 high close of $96,929.33 was set on January 14; Wednesday’s snapshot sits about 13% below that level. Read in that context, Wednesday looks like a pause inside a two-week rally rather than a breakdown.
Data as of and disclaimer
Figures in this article are as of a 5:05pm ET snapshot on September 23, 2026, except the crypto equity closes, which are September 23 regular-session closes, and the Treasury yields, which are the September 23 par yield curve rates published by the US Department of the Treasury.
Disclaimer: The content on bestcanadianstocks.ca is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Bitcoin and Ethereum prices from a Yahoo Finance snapshot taken 17:05 ET on September 23, 2026. Crypto equity figures are September 23, 2026 regular-session closes. Treasury yields are the US Treasury daily par yield curve for September 23, 2026.
