📃 Oct 18, 2026 – EUROPE Cryptocurrency Market 8h Daily Trend Forecast

Crypto Market Analysis & Trend: Neutral/Trending Down

The cryptocurrency market is cooling off, with key assets seeing prices and volumes drop over the past 24 to 48 hours. Bitcoin’s price fell by 0.77% on 2026-10-17, reaching $81,657.14, while its market capitalization decreased by 0.15% to $1,636,309,818,927 on 2026-10-18. Ethereum also dropped 0.86% in price to $2,433.91 on 2026-10-17, and its capitalization declined by 0.81% to $293,251,404,900 on 2026-10-18. Binance Coin saw a 1.30% price decrease to $721.63 on 2026-10-17, with its capitalization down 0.52% to $95,514,694,397 on 2026-10-18. These consistent downward movements across major cryptocurrencies point to prevailing bearish pressure.

Trading volumes have significantly diminished. Bitcoin’s volume plummeted 49.41% to $14,325,605,495 on 2026-10-18, while Ethereum’s volume dropped 48.46% to $6,409,197,704. Binance Coin’s volume decreased by 24.69% to $532,691,618. This widespread reduction in trading volume across multiple assets indicates less investor engagement and liquidity, confirming a short-term downward trend. The Fear and Greed Index, while still in ‘greed’ territory at 53pt on 2026-10-18 according to Alternative.me and Milkroad.com, has fallen from 63pt on 2026-10-16, a sign bullish sentiment is fading. Coinstats.app even reported values in the ‘fear’ range, such as 48pt on 2026-10-18 00:00:00, suggesting caution.

Exchange volumes also fell, with major platforms seeing substantial declines. Binance saw a 45.84% decrease in volume to $67,519 on 2026-10-18, Bybit’s volume dropped 55.31% to $10,538, and Coinbase’s volume fell 53.84% to $8,023. These 2026-10-18 figures show a broad reduction in trading activity across centralized exchanges. The mining sector shows stable difficulty at 132.72T, but the hash rate decreased from 1.02T on 2026-10-16 to 958.38B on 2026-10-18, which could signal some pressure on miners. The number of total Bitcoin addresses continues to grow, reaching 1,554,188,764 on 2026-10-18 07:00:00, though addresses with significant balances show minimal variation. Our confidence in a neutral to trending down analysis for the next 8 hours is moderate to high. Negative price and volume indicators are consistent, and sentiment is cooling. While we’re seeing positive news on institutional adoption, immediate market action points to caution.

What is important

The cryptocurrency market is slowing down, with prices falling and trading volumes significantly reduced across major assets. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin all saw negative price variations and substantial volume drops on 2026-10-18, with Bitcoin’s volume nearly halving.

The Fear and Greed Index has retreated from higher ‘greed’ levels, with some sources indicating a shift towards ‘fear’. Exchange activity reflects this: major platforms report volume declines exceeding 45%.

Despite this, institutional interest remains, with Deutsche Bank and Charles Schwab expanding crypto services. However, Wall Street firms push back against tokenization plans, and Bitcoin and Ether ETFs saw significant outflows on Friday, totaling $152 million, highlighting a mixed institutional landscape.

Top 5 – Latest Headlines & Cryptocurrency News

👎 Peter Schiff Says Sell Bitcoin and Buy Gold. Is He Right This Time?
– Peter Schiff, a prominent gold advocate, urges investors to sell Bitcoin and buy gold, asserting that Bitcoin is a speculative bubble. He believes gold offers a more stable and reliable store of value compared to the volatile cryptocurrency. Schiff´s stance highlights the ongoing debate between traditional safe-haven assets and emerging digital currencies.

👍 Coinbase And Marqeta Team Up To Bring Stablecoin Payments To Millions Of Merchants
– Coinbase and Marqeta are partnering to enable stablecoin payments for millions of users. This collaboration aims to integrate Marqeta´s card issuing and payment infrastructure with Coinbase´s stablecoin offerings, potentially revolutionizing how people use digital currencies for everyday transactions and expanding access to crypto payments.

👎 Wall Street Giants Push Back Against Crypto Tokenization Plans As Nine Companies Object
– Major Wall Street firms are reportedly pushing back against plans for cryptocurrency tokenization. This resistance stems from concerns about regulatory clarity and the potential disruption to existing financial systems. The pushback highlights ongoing tensions between traditional finance and the burgeoning digital asset space.

👎 Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Lose $152M as Blackrock Drives Friday Selloff
– Bitcoin and Ether ETFs experienced a net outflow of $152 million on Friday, primarily driven by BlackRock´s Bitcoin ETF. This significant sell-off indicates a shift in investor sentiment, with outflows concentrated in specific products. The total outflows highlight a challenging day for the cryptocurrency investment landscape.

👍 Deutsche Bank, Charles Schwab double down on crypto as Bitcoin gains on TradFi
– Deutsche Bank and Charles Schwab are increasing their involvement in the cryptocurrency space, signaling growing adoption by traditional finance institutions. This move coincides with Bitcoin´s recent gains, suggesting a strengthening link between traditional finance and the digital asset market. The article highlights a positive trend as major players embrace crypto.

Factors Driving the Growth – Market Sentiment

Recent news sentiment is complex, with ‘bitcoin’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ appearing frequently in both positive and negative contexts. On the positive side, ‘bitcoin’ was mentioned 11 times, ‘stablecoin’ 6 times, and ‘tokenization’ 6 times, showing interest in these areas, especially Coinbase and Marqeta’s stablecoin payments partnership. ‘Charles Schwab’ and ‘Deutsche Bank’ also appeared 4 times each, reflecting growing TradFi engagement. Conversely, ‘cryptocurrency’ was the most mentioned negative keyword with 19 occurrences, followed by ‘bitcoin’ and ‘crypto’ each with 10 mentions. ‘Objections’ appeared 9 times, often related to Wall Street’s pushback against tokenization, and ‘doge’ or ‘dogecoin’ were mentioned 4 times due to a ‘death cross’ indicator. While optimism exists around specific innovations and institutional adoption, broader market concerns and technical bearish signals are also prominent.

Positive Terms – Sentiment Analysis

Negative Terms – Sentiment Analysis

Crypto Investor Fear & Greed Index

The Fear and Greed Index shows sentiment shifting from strong ‘greed’ to a more neutral or cautious stance. On 2026-10-18, Alternative.me, BitDegree.org, and Milkroad.com all reported the index at 53pt, a 2pt decrease from 2026-10-17’s 55pt and a more significant drop from 63pt on 2026-10-16. While 53pt still falls within the ‘greed’ category (50-74), the consistent decline suggests bullish momentum is fading. Coinstats.app data shows more fluctuation, with values as low as 47pt on 2026-10-17 21:40:00 and 48pt on 2026-10-18 00:00:00, placing it in the ‘fear’ range (25-49) at times. This mixed reporting, with a general downward trend, points to increasing investor caution, moving away from the stronger greed seen earlier in the week.

Bitcoin: Active Addresses

Bitcoin address indicators continue to expand the total number of addresses, reaching 1,554,188,764 by 2026-10-18 07:00:00. This growth isn’t matched by significant changes in balance distribution. Addresses with over 0 BTC, 0.0000001 BTC, 0.000001 BTC, 0.00001 BTC, 0.0001 BTC, 0.001 BTC, 0.01 BTC, 0.1 BTC, 1 BTC, 10 BTC, 100 BTC, 1,000 BTC, 10,000 BTC, and 100,000 BTC all show minimal or no percentage variation on 2026-10-18. For instance, addresses with over 1,000 BTC saw a slight 0.05% decrease to 1,943 by 07:00:00. Overall, the network expands in address creation, but Bitcoin holdings remain relatively stable across balance tiers, with no major influx or outflow into larger wallets.

Crypto Assets Prices

Cryptocurrency prices saw a downward trend on 2026-10-17, following a period of mixed movements. Bitcoin’s price was $81,657.14 at 07:30:00, with a 24h variation of -0.77% and a price variation of -0.69%. That’s a contrast to its 0.83% 24h variation on 2026-10-16. Ethereum’s price was $2,433.91 at 07:30:00 on 2026-10-17, down 0.86% over 24 hours, after a 3.20% increase on 2026-10-16. Binance Coin also saw a 1.30% drop to $721.63 at 07:30:00 on 2026-10-17, reversing its 1.47% gain from the previous day. Volatility is still present, with Bitcoin’s 24h volatility at 2.64% and Ethereum’s at 4.20% on 2026-10-17. The consistent negative 24h variations for all three major cryptocurrencies on 2026-10-17 point to recent bearish sentiment.

Cryptocurrency Capitalization and Volume

Market capitalizations and trading volumes for major cryptocurrencies declined on 2026-10-18. Bitcoin’s capitalization decreased by 0.15% to $1,636,309,818,927, while its volume plummeted 49.41% to $14,325,605,495. Ethereum’s capitalization fell by 0.81% to $293,251,404,900, with its volume dropping 48.46% to $6,409,197,704. Binance Coin saw a 0.52% decline in capitalization to $95,514,694,397, and its volume was down 24.69% to $532,691,618. Ripple’s capitalization decreased by 1.36% to $81,597,091,234, and its volume fell 40.50% to $873,469,398. Tether was an outlier, with a slight 0.01% increase in capitalization to $183,509,439,367, but its volume also dropped significantly by 43.79% to $29,840,253,218. The widespread reduction in trading volumes across all major assets, coupled with declining capitalizations for most, points to a broad market slowdown and reduced investor activity.

Cryptocurrency Exchanges Volume and Variation

Major cryptocurrency exchanges saw substantial decreases in trading volumes on 2026-10-18. Binance, the largest exchange, saw its volume drop by 45.84% to $67,519. Bybit’s volume fell by 55.31% to $10,538, and Coinbase’s volume decreased by 53.84% to $8,023. Kraken’s volume plummeted 64.07%, the largest decline among listed exchanges, to $5,908. Crypto.com also saw a significant drop of 63.20% to $3,773. Other exchanges like OKX, Gate.io, and KuCoin reported volume reductions of 50.36%, 50.83%, and 31.75% respectively. Bitfinex’s volume was down 40.91% to $1,248. Binance US was an exception, with its volume increasing by 47.47% to $320, though from a much smaller base. The widespread and substantial decline in volumes across most major exchanges on 2026-10-18 reflects a significant reduction in overall market trading activity.

Mining – Blockchain Technology

Bitcoin mining indicators show stable difficulty but a notable hash rate shift. The mining difficulty remained constant at 132.72T from 2026-10-12 through 2026-10-18, with no reported variation. The number of mined blocks shows a consistent slight increase, reaching 971.92K on 2026-10-18, up from 971.78K on 2026-10-17, a 0.01% variation. Block rewards also stayed constant at 3.13 BTC daily. The hash rate, representing the computational power dedicated to mining, saw a significant decrease from 1.02T GB on 2026-10-16 to 958.38B GB on 2026-10-18. The reported -100.00% variation for 2026-10-17’s hash rate (0.00 GB) appears anomalous, but the overall trend from 2026-10-16 to 2026-10-18 shows a hash rate reduction. This decline, despite stable difficulty, could suggest some miners are cutting operations or less new capacity is coming online.

Taking stock

The cryptocurrency market is seeing reduced activity and cautious sentiment, as evidenced by broad declines in prices and trading volumes. While the Fear and Greed Index still registers ‘greed’ at 53pt on 2026-10-18, it’s a noticeable retreat from the 63pt seen on 2026-10-16, signaling cooling bullish enthusiasm. This shift is highlighted by substantial drops in trading volumes across major exchanges, with many reporting decreases exceeding 45% on 2026-10-18.

Despite this immediate market slowdown, institutional engagement shows a clear dichotomy. Positive news points to Charles Schwab and Deutsche Bank expanding crypto services. This suggests TradFi is strategically embracing digital assets long-term.

However, institutional adoption isn’t without friction; Wall Street firms express ‘objections’ to tokenization plans, and the market saw significant outflows from Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, totaling $152 million, driven by BlackRock on Friday. This mixed institutional signal, combined with mentions of Dogecoin and a ‘death cross’ indicator, creates a complex environment where long-term adoption narratives contend with short-term market pressures and regulatory hurdles.

So What

For someone watching the cryptocurrency market today, the immediate implication is reduced liquidity and increased caution. The significant drops in trading volumes for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major assets, coupled with declining prices on 2026-10-18, mean price movements might be more volatile on lower trade counts.

The cooling Fear and Greed Index suggests the broader market is becoming less exuberant. This isn’t extreme panic, but a move away from strong buying pressure. Traders might find fewer opportunities for quick gains, and larger orders could have a more pronounced impact on prices due to thinner order books on exchanges like Binance, which saw a 45.84% volume drop.

What next?

In the next 8 hours, market participants should closely watch trading volumes on major exchanges. A continued decline in volume, particularly on platforms like Kraken, which saw a 64.07% drop on 2026-10-18, could signal further weakening market interest and potentially sustained price pressure.

Watch for shifts in the Fear and Greed Index, especially if it dips further into the ‘fear’ range (below 50pt) from its current 53pt. A sustained move into ‘fear’ could signal a more pronounced bearish sentiment. Pay attention to Bitcoin’s price action around the $80,000 support level mentioned in news, as a break below this could signal further downside. Conversely, a rebound in trading volumes across the board, particularly for Bitcoin and Ethereum, could signal renewed buyer interest.

Disclaimer – Informational Content, Not Investment Advice

Content provided herein is solely for informational purposes and should not be construed as a recommendation, endorsement, or suggestion to engage in any form of investment activity. The information presented in this post is not intended to serve as financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.

About the Author: CryptoTrends Team

With over five years of diving deep into cryptocurrencies and blockchain, we’ve cemented our position as experts in the digital currency realm. Our team has not only contributed to a multitude of pioneering blockchain projects but has also enlightened thousands with our incisive articles CryptoTrends. Always at the cutting edge of crypto trends, we proudly collaborate with CryptoBotStation, ensuring our readers stay one step ahead in this dynamic space.