The cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp downturn on October 15, 2026, with total market capitalization falling roughly 3.2% to $2.83 trillion and trading volume surging 33.2% to $102.36 billion. More than $100 billion was wiped out from the market at one point, pushing the aggregate value down to about $2.71 trillion on CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin tumbled below $81,000, hitting a fresh monthly low of $80,200 after being rejected near $84,000. It later recovered slightly to trade around $80,880–$81,045, down roughly 2.4%–3.3% on the day. Bitcoin’s market capitalization fell to $1.630 trillion, while its dominance over altcoins climbed above 60%.
Ethereum was among the hardest hit major assets, plunging to a two-month low of $2,315 before rebounding to $2,367.93, still down about 6.2% in 24 hours. ETH led daily liquidations among top altcoins. BNB fell 4.1% to $717.67, XRP dropped 5.1% to $1.31, and Solana declined 5.0% to $102.92. Other assets such as DOGE, LINK, ADA, ZEC, NEAR, TAO and QNT also posted notable losses, while STRK rose 10% to $0.087.
The selloff was fueled by broader global market stress. South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 8%, nearing a full trading halt, and US inflation data from Wednesday’s CPI report came in slightly higher than expected. Eight US states sued OpenAI over alleged harms to children, while Anthropic reported surging Q3 revenue of $16.8 billion, but risk sentiment remained weak across markets.
Trending searches included Bitcoin, Pudgy Penguins, and Quantus, with Pudgy Penguins down 6.4% to $0.007328 and Quantus falling 8.5% to $112.
