Bitcoin fell below the $80,000 mark on October 26, 2026, driven down by institutional de-risking ahead of the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting and broader market sell-offs in the artificial intelligence sector. The drop marks the fifth consecutive loss for the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dragging down major altcoins including Ether and XRP during a broader market retreat.
Digital asset markets faced severe volatility during the downturn, with derivative exchanges recording $436 million in long positions liquidated within a four-hour window as Ethereum sustained expanding losses. The downturn reflects an intense week of trading pressure, marked by weak institutional inflows into crypto investment products and broader macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on risk assets worldwide.
Why is the crypto market falling this week?
The cryptocurrency market is falling due to a confluence of macroeconomic anxiety, declining technology stocks, and heightened geopolitical fears. Traders are aggressively reducing risk ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting, while an ongoing sell-off in artificial intelligence shares spread into Asian equities, where Goldman Sachs slashed its South Korean Kospi target index by 25 percent. Additionally, market sentiment took a hit on reported fears regarding renewed U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran, prompting investors to pull back from digital assets.
$436 million in long positions were liquidated in just four hours as Bitcoin breached the $80,000 support level.
The sell-off was not limited to Bitcoin, as top cryptocurrencies suffered weekly declines of up to 4 percent. Ether and XRP led losses among major alternative coins, mirroring the broader risk-off behavior seen across global stock exchanges and technology benchmarks.
Where will the Bitcoin price go next?
Bitcoin price technical analysis suggests the cryptocurrency may test lower support levels between $75,000 and $77,600 if current selling pressure persists throughout the week. Analysts monitoring price charts warn that breaking below $80,000 opens up further downside risks for the remainder of the October 26 to November 1 trading period. However, BloFin's Chief Executive Officer noted that despite current volatility, Bitcoin's next potential market crash may prove less severe than previous historical downturns.
Market participants continue to focus on federal monetary policy decisions and institutional flow metrics to determine whether digital assets can reestablish support levels above $80,000 in the near term.
Market Snapshot
| Asset | Price | 24h | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin BTC | $80,357 | +0.27% | $1615.5B |
 Ethereum ETH | $2,328 | +0.21% | $284.4B |
 BNB BNB | $737.31 | +0.11% | $96.9B |
 XRP XRP | $1.29 | -0.34% | $81.6B |
 Solana SOL | $101.17 | +0.61% | $59.7B |
 Dogecoin DOGE | $0.0771 | +1.32% | $12.1B |
 Cardano ADA | $0.204 | +0.57% | $7.7B |
Live data: CoinGecko — 2026-10-26 09:22 UTC
