Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP are at risk of extending a bearish streak after the largest cryptocurrency slipped below $80,000 on Monday. CoinGecko data cited by Coinpedia put bitcoin at $79,863.55, a 1.6% decline over 24 hours that left it 3.8% lower on the week.

The decline matters because it arrives in a heavy macro week, with a Federal Reserve policy decision, US PCE inflation figures and quarterly results from roughly a fifth of the S&P 500 all due. Traders are cutting risk ahead of those events, Coinpedia reported.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP prices slide

Ether fell 2.7% to $2,310.09, XRP lost 2.6% to $1.28 and Solana slipped 2.2% to $100.59, according to Coinpedia. Finance Magnates reported that ether, XRP and Dogecoin fell to their lowest prices since August.

Bitcoin traded at $79,979 on Binance at 08:22 UTC on Monday, about 6% below last Wednesday's high of $84,898, Finance Magnates reported. The selloff began on Thursday, after concerns over funding for artificial intelligence spending dragged down technology stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6% in that session, its worst since June, and Meta Platforms lost about 7%, according to Finance Magnates. Tesseract Group senior DeFi analyst Lorris Beziers said on Thursday that the drop resembled equity risk flowing into bitcoin, not a fresh crypto-specific shock.

ETF outflows and liquidations

US-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $635.6 million of outflows on Thursday and a further $137.9 million on Friday, according to Farside Investors data cited by Finance Magnates. The two days of withdrawals wiped out over $1 billion that had flowed into the funds across the prior three sessions.

By Thursday evening, $440.9 million of crypto positions had been liquidated over 24 hours, with longs accounting for $397 million, according to CoinGlass data cited by Finance Magnates. Coinpedia reported that price action in recent sessions has repeatedly targeted leveraged retail positions, with the next large cluster of liquidations sitting near $78,800.

The pullback follows a strong run. FM Intelligence data cited by Finance Magnates shows bitcoin climbed over 40% during the third quarter, its strongest quarterly performance since late 2024, and through October 20 it remained down just 0.4% for the month.

Technical levels under pressure

Bitcoin closed at $81,189 on Friday and slipped beneath its 50-day exponential moving average, which now sits around $80,793, during weekend trading, Finance Magnates reported. That puts bitcoin back inside its August-September range, sitting on the psychological $80,000 level after Saturday's low reached $79,221.

Roughly 4.5% below current levels, the 200-day EMA around $76,344 may yet cushion the fall, though Finance Magnates noted bitcoin has considerable space to correct further. Coinpedia reported that a sharp move toward $76,000 would signal a genuine downtrend, while continued choppy trading would point to another short-lived range that traps buyers on brief rallies.

STS Digital's head of US, Jeff Anderson, told Finance Magnates on Friday that breaching $80,000 would trigger forced selling and liquidations, though his desk views that zone as a buying opportunity. "We favor buying dips to $80k and owning tail risk puts on these prices," Anderson said.

Ether broke its October support near $2,393 and has closed lower four days in a row, with Monday's candle red again at $2,314, Finance Magnates reported. So far the 200-day EMA around $2,318 has halted the slide, and ether is retesting that level now; the weekend drop to $2,280 avoided a daily close beneath it.

A daily close below that average would send ether back toward the psychological $2,000 level, about 14% lower, according to Finance Magnates. Further down lies a band between $1,819 and $1,919, the area where ether spent July and August consolidating, some 17% to 21% beneath where it trades now.

XRP holds support but stays in downtrend

XRP is the last of the four major tokens still sitting on support, Finance Magnates reported. It continues to hold the $1.28 to $1.32 zone, yet with the price under both the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, the token remains in a downtrend; it was at $1.277 on Monday, down 1.3%.

The chart drew two almost identical falling boxes, and XRP dropped out of the second one and then retested it from below, confirming the breakdown, according to Finance Magnates. Dogecoin has already broken support at $0.080 and trades below both its 50-day and 200-day EMAs, near $0.077 on Monday.

XRP fell just 0.1% over the past week, making it one of the most stable major cryptocurrencies, while bitcoin fell 2%, ethereum fell 3.4% and Solana fell 2.8%, 24/7 Wall St. reported. With XRP at $1.30 and bitcoin near $80,268, some holders speculated the token may be starting to decouple from bitcoin.

The correlation data suggests otherwise. XRP's daily returns over the past seven days showed a correlation of 0.97 with bitcoin's movements, and the reading stands at 0.91 over 30 days, 0.89 over 90 days and 0.85 historically, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Over the past 30 days, XRP has dropped 18.8% compared with bitcoin's 5% decline, and year-to-date XRP is down 29.1% while bitcoin is down 7.7%, 24/7 Wall St. reported. Over the past year, XRP has lost 49.8% while bitcoin has decreased 27.7%, a pattern that suggests XRP tends to follow bitcoin but often more sharply during drops.

Fed decision and week ahead

Brent crude jumped 4% to $113.17 a barrel on Thursday amid Middle East tensions, keeping inflation risk in play before the Fed announces its next decision on Wednesday, Finance Magnates reported. The Fed raised its target range by a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00% in September, and consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year to September.

A hold is priced for this week, but Iliya Kalchev, an analyst at Nexo, said on Friday that CME FedWatch still put the odds of a December hike at about 75%, according to Finance Magnates. Core personal consumption expenditures inflation data follow on Thursday, and about $11 billion in bitcoin options expire on Deribit on Friday.

Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent, said on Thursday that he still sees bitcoin range-bound between $80,000 and $85,000 until the US midterm elections. For Tesseract's Beziers, the test is whether ETF inflows return while bitcoin holds the $80,000 to $81,000 area into the Fed meeting, Finance Magnates reported.

For XRP, spot XRP ETFs saw a net inflow of about $4.3 million from October 19 to October 23, but the funds' net assets shrank from $1.77 billion on September 25 to $1.48 billion on October 23 as price declines outweighed inflows, 24/7 Wall St. reported. The Ripple Swell conference runs from October 27 to 29 in New York alongside XRPL Apex, Ripple's developer conference, and any agreements related to payments or tokenized assets on the XRP Ledger could generate demand independent of bitcoin.

Conclusion

Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP enter a pivotal week with bitcoin below $80,000, ether testing its 200-day average and XRP holding support while still in a downtrend. The next concrete steps are the Federal Reserve decision on Wednesday, core PCE inflation data on Thursday and roughly $11 billion in bitcoin options expiring on Deribit on Friday. Analysts said the key test is whether ETF inflows return while bitcoin holds the $80,000 to $81,000 area into the Fed meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did bitcoin fall below $80,000 on Monday?

Bitcoin traded at $79,863.55 on Monday, down 1.6% in 24 hours, as traders cut risk ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting, US PCE inflation data and earnings from about 20% of S&P 500 companies. The selloff began Thursday when worries about AI spending funding hit tech stocks, and US spot bitcoin ETFs lost $635.6 million that day.

What price levels matter for bitcoin, ether and XRP this week?

Bitcoin sits on the psychological $80,000 level, with a liquidation cluster near $78,800 and the 200-day EMA near $76,344 below. Ether is testing its 200-day EMA near $2,318, and a daily close below it points toward $2,000. XRP holds support between $1.28 and $1.32 but trades below both its 50-day and 200-day EMAs.

Is XRP decoupling from bitcoin in October 2026?

No, according to correlation data cited by 24/7 Wall St. XRP's daily returns showed a 0.97 correlation with bitcoin over the past seven days, and 0.91 over 30 days. XRP fell just 0.1% in the week while bitcoin fell 2%, but over 30 days XRP dropped 18.8% versus bitcoin's 5% decline, suggesting it follows bitcoin, often more sharply.

What did STS Digital's Jeff Anderson say about buying bitcoin at $80,000?

Jeff Anderson, head of US at STS Digital, said on Friday that a break below $80,000 will force selling and liquidations, but his desk sees that level as a place to buy. "We favor buying dips to $80k and owning tail risk puts on these prices," Anderson said.

What events could move crypto prices this week?

The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision on Wednesday, with a hold priced in but December hike odds near 75% per CME FedWatch. Core PCE inflation data follows Thursday, and about $11 billion in bitcoin options expire on Deribit Friday. The Ripple Swell conference runs October 27 to 29 in New York alongside XRPL Apex.