As October enters its final stretch, one of the most relevant developments in the cryptocurrency market is that, after several weeks of neutrality, a more consistent phase of weakness is beginning to take shape. Throughout the week, none of the major cryptocurrencies has managed to sustain meaningful gains and, instead, selling pressure has gradually regained control across the sector.
The main cryptocurrencies are now moving closer to important support levels and, if this dynamic continues, the bearish bias observed in recent sessions could remain relevant throughout the coming trading days.
Performance of Major Cryptocurrencies
Source: Data - StoneX, Tradingview
- The week has not been particularly favorable for the cryptocurrency market. Overall, weakness continues to dominate and even Bitcoin, the market's benchmark asset, has struggled to maintain stable price action in the short term. In this environment, Cardano stands out with a weekly decline of approximately -10.26%, making it one of the weakest cryptocurrencies of the week alongside Solana, which is also posting losses close to -10.00%. Meanwhile, Litecoin and Dogecoin have shown greater resilience, although both still register declines of roughly -4.5%. This situation reflects that weakness has once again become the dominant theme across the market and that confidence remains limited in the short term.
- Looking at the last 10 weeks, the broader picture has also started to deteriorate. Most assets are now trading below levels seen several weeks ago, suggesting that the medium-term strength observed earlier has gradually faded. Once again, Cardano and Dogecoin stand out as the weakest performers, with declines near -13.00% over the period. Meanwhile, Solana and Litecoin have managed to remain relatively more stable, although they have also begun to feel the impact of the latest wave of selling. This is important because it shows that the slowdown in demand is no longer limited to short-term price action and is becoming a broader market theme.
- The annual performance remains one of the sector's biggest challenges. Major cryptocurrencies continue to trade below the levels recorded at the start of 2026, highlighting how the weakness observed during the first part of the year continues to weigh on longer-term performance. Cardano remains one of the worst-performing assets, with losses of approximately -42.47%, while Bitcoin is down nearly -11.85%. This shows that even the market's leading cryptocurrency has not been able to recover a positive yearly performance, reflecting a market that continues to approach the end of 2026 with relatively weak confidence.
- Bitcoin, as the market's benchmark cryptocurrency, has also experienced a particularly difficult week. The cryptocurrency has lost nearly $4,000 per coin and has returned to the $75,000 area, reflecting persistent weakness around important technical levels. As long as the market remains below the key $80,000 threshold, selling pressure could continue to dominate short-term price action.
- Overall, the cryptocurrency market continues to develop under a broadly weak environment. The buying momentum that dominated several weeks ago has faded and, for now, even Bitcoin has failed to provide enough confidence to support the rest of the sector. As long as selling pressure remains the dominant characteristic, the crypto market may continue facing challenges in building a meaningful recovery into year-end 2026.
Colors from red to green. Red indicates negative correlations, while green indicates positive correlations.
Source: Data - StoneX, Tradingview
From a correlation perspective, an increasingly close relationship between the major cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin continues to stand out. Correlation coefficients have increased compared with previous weeks, and many assets are now trading with correlations above 0.8, reflecting that a significant portion of the market continues to closely follow the movements of BTC. It is important to remember that correlation coefficients can change over time.
This relationship matters because Bitcoin itself continues to trade within a relatively consistent bearish environment. As the broader market becomes more closely aligned with the performance of the benchmark cryptocurrency, the lack of momentum in BTC begins to spread across the rest of the sector. This suggests that the weakness currently observed is no longer an isolated event, but rather an increasingly widespread characteristic of the crypto market, where very few assets have managed to maintain convincing stability in recent sessions.
Unless Bitcoin can generate stronger price action capable of restoring confidence, this phase of weakness could remain relevant over the coming trading sessions.
Bitcoin Begins to Face Meaningful Selling Pressure
Source: StoneX, Tradingview
As the market's leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has struggled to maintain a stable short-term structure. While previous weeks were characterized by efforts to sustain a long-term bullish trendline, that technical structure is now entering a risk zone due to the market's inability to establish new significant highs and the growing consistency of selling pressure.
Under this scenario, if Bitcoin starts breaking important support levels in the coming sessions, the broader chart structure could experience a meaningful shift. Such a development would not only place the long-term bullish trend at risk but could also create room for a much more dominant bearish phase in the weeks ahead.
Indicators:
- Both the MACD and the RSI continue to develop below their respective neutrality levels, reflecting that both market momentum and short-term moving averages maintain a relatively consistent bearish bias. As long as this behavior persists, downside pressure could continue playing an important role in Bitcoin's price action during the coming sessions.
Key Levels:
- $82,000 – Key Resistance: A recent highs area that aligns with the 50-period simple moving average and currently represents the most important upside barrier on the chart. A move back toward this level could restore bullish momentum and reinforce the broader uptrend observed in previous months.
- $79,100 – Near-Term Barrier: A relevant retracement area from recent weeks that could become the primary level to monitor in the event of short-term bullish corrections.
- $75,400 – Key Support: A level that coincides with the lows observed during September 2026 and currently represents the most important downside barrier on the chart. Price action consolidating below this area could favor a meaningful structural change and open the door to a more dominant bearish trend in the weeks ahead.
Cardano Begins to Consolidate a New Trendline
Source: StoneX, Tradingview
Cardano stands out as one of the hardest-hit cryptocurrencies of the week, and the weakness accumulated during recent sessions is becoming increasingly visible on the chart. Price action has started to define a medium-term bearish trendline that is gradually becoming the dominant technical structure.
As long as selling pressure remains strong enough to break levels that were relevant months ago, this emerging downtrend could continue to gain importance and become an increasingly dominant pattern during the coming weeks.
Indicators:
- Both the RSI and the MACD histogram continue to trade below their respective neutrality zones, reflecting a consistent bearish environment. However, it is also important to note that the RSI is approaching the 30 oversold level, a signal that may indicate excessive recent selling pressure and could eventually open the door to short-term bullish corrections.
Key Levels:
- 22.96 – Key Resistance: An area that coincides with the 50-period simple moving average. Price action returning toward this level could begin to reflect a more pronounced lack of direction and potentially favor a period of consolidation over the coming weeks.
- 20.95 – Near-Term Barrier: A level that coincides with the 200-period simple moving average and could become the primary reference to monitor in the event of short-term bullish corrections.
- 19.07 – Main Support: A recent low area that remains a particularly important downside barrier on the chart. Price action consolidating below this level could reinforce seller dominance and favor a more consistent extension of the bearish trend over the coming weeks.
Written by Julian Pineda, CFA, CMT – Market Analyst
Follow him on: @julianpineda25
