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The period from October 14 to October 20 was difficult for the crypto market, but it also revealed persistent demand near the main support levels. Bitcoin moved from approximately $83,100 to $81,400, a decline of close to 2%. It briefly fell below $80,000 on October 15, reaching approximately $79,700, before ending that session above $82,000. Subsequent declines toward $80,000 to $81,000 also attracted buyers, suggesting that this region remains actively defended.
Ethereum experienced a more difficult week, declining from approximately $2,500 to $2,380, or close to 5%. ETH temporarily moved into the $2,330 area before recovering part of its losses. This underperformance reflects greater caution toward digital assets other than bitcoin and is consistent with significantly less favourable institutional flows.
The main obstacle remained the macroeconomic environment. The U.S. Consumer Price Index increased by 0.6% in September and by 3.7% over twelve months, compared with 3.4% in August. Core inflation also accelerated from 2.4% to 2.6%. These figures revived concerns surrounding monetary policy, although much of the monthly increase came from gasoline.
Oil added to this pressure, with Brent crude again moving above $110 per barrel because of geopolitical tensions. The ten-year U.S. Treasury yield simultaneously remained near 5.15%. Markets still widely expect rates to remain unchanged at the October 27–28 meeting, but now assign a high probability to another increase by December. This environment naturally limits risk appetite, although bitcoin’s relatively orderly behaviour remains encouraging.
Spot Bitcoin ETF flows improved substantially toward the end of the period. After outflows of $261 million on October 14 and $82 million on October 16, the funds recorded $527 million in inflows on Monday, October 19, their strongest session in nearly a month. The four available sessions therefore produced approximately $188 million in net inflows. This recovery represents a constructive signal, particularly because it occurred while the price remained near support.
Conditions remained more difficult for Ethereum. Ethereum ETFs recorded approximately $363 million in net outflows between October 14 and October 19, with four consecutive negative sessions. This divergence helps explain why Ethereum showed less resilience than bitcoin. October 20 data was not yet available at the time of writing.
From a technical perspective, the $80,000-to-$81,000 region remains bitcoin’s main support. Its 50-day moving average is now located around $81,500 to $81,800. The price was trading slightly below this average on Tuesday morning, meaning it is still being tested rather than clearly confirmed as support. Bitcoin’s ability to quickly reclaim it would nevertheless strengthen the case for a healthy consolidation. A sustained break below $80,000 would expose the $78,000-to-$79,000 region, while the 200-day moving average near $72,600 remains considerably lower. On the upside, initial resistance stands between $82,800 and $84,000, followed by approximately $85,500.
For Ethereum, the $2,350-to-$2,400 region represents the first support, followed by $2,300. A recovery above $2,450 to $2,500 would be required to further stabilize the structure, while a move above $2,550 to $2,600 would restore more convincing momentum.
Institutional adoption nevertheless continues to advance. Deutsche Bank expects to launch its first digital-asset custody service in Germany within the next several weeks, followed by an expansion into selected Asian markets in 2027. The service is initially expected to support bitcoin and Ethereum, with stablecoins, tokenized deposits and blockchain-issued securities potentially added later. The arrival of a bank of this importance confirms that institutional infrastructure continues to develop independently of weekly market fluctuations.
On the regulatory front, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposed Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM have entered the public-comment phase. Among other objectives, they seek to clarify the treatment of certain leveraged retail crypto transactions and create a framework better suited to regulated digital-derivatives platforms. The U.S. legislative process remains slow, but these administrative initiatives could gradually improve market clarity.
The week also provided a reminder of the importance of security. A reported supply-chain attack involving certain hardware wallets resulted in approximately $93 million in losses, prompting Ledger to review its distribution practices and anti-tampering safeguards. The incident does not call the Bitcoin or Ethereum networks themselves into question, but it highlights the operational risks associated with self-custody.
In summary, the week produced a moderate bitcoin decline and a more substantial Ethereum pullback, but several elements remain constructive. The $80,000-to-$81,000 region repeatedly attracted buyers, Bitcoin ETFs ended the available sessions with net inflows, and institutional adoption continues to progress. The 50-day moving average is now the pivotal level: a convincing recovery above it and $84,000 would quickly improve the setup.
The main risks remain another increase in oil prices, persistent inflation and a further rise in bond yields. Conversely, bitcoin’s ability to absorb these pressures without sustainably losing $80,000 would demonstrate robust underlying demand and could prepare the market for a recovery once the macroeconomic environment becomes less restrictive.
The presented information is as of October 20th, 2026, unless otherwise indicated and is provided for information purposes only. The information comes from sources that we believe are reliable, but not guaranteed. This statement does not provide financial, legal or tax advice. Rivemont Investments are not responsible for any errors or omissions in the information or for any loss or damage suffered.
