The crypto market experienced a sudden weekend flash crash on October 18, 2026, with Bitcoin briefly dropping from $81,600 to $80,750 before rebounding just as quickly to $82,000 and then retreating to its starting level.
The turbulent move followed a week of inflation-driven selling pressure. BTC began the business week with a surge to $84,250, but bears pushed it to $81,000 within hours. It recovered to near $84,000 by Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, September CPI data came in slightly higher than expected, sending BTC down to $82,000. Thursday's PPI report reinforced the inflation narrative, and Bitcoin fell to $80,200 before setting a monthly low at $79,800. A rapid bounce took it back toward $83,000 on Friday, though it was rejected below $82,000 heading into the weekend.
Analysts are now warning of a possible “Black Monday” amid the broader stock market correction last week, suggesting more volatility could hit digital assets. BTC’s market cap stands at $1.630 trillion, with dominance over altcoins at 60%.
Major altcoins mirrored the flash crash. Ethereum dipped to $2,360 and is struggling to hold above $2,400, while XRP remains below its $1.30 support. ZEC, SOL, HYPE, DOGE, TRX, LINK, and ADA traded in the red, while XMR, RAIN, and HBAR posted gains of 3-4%. BTW jumped 17% to $2.43. Total crypto market capitalization slipped 0.2% daily to $2.730 trillion.
