Crypto News: 4th Week of October 2026 — Zcash Upgrade, BTC Decline & ETH ETF Outflows
The final week of October 2026 delivered a cocktail of technical milestones and market turbulence. Bitcoin recorded its sharpest weekly decline in three months, Zcash executed a long-awaited protocol upgrade, and ETH spot ETF products extended their losing streak with $120 million in net outflows. Here is everything you need to know.
Bitcoin Falls 8% — From $68K to $62K
Bitcoin opened the week at approximately $68,200 before selling pressure accelerated mid-week, pushing the price to a low of $62,100 — an 8.9% decline. On-chain analytics platforms flagged $1.2 billion in leveraged long positions at risk of liquidation between $63,000 and $65,000, amplifying the move downward as cascading forced sells hit the market.
The decline was partly attributed to pre-election risk-off positioning. Historically, US election weeks have produced elevated volatility in both equity and crypto markets as institutional traders reduce exposure to speculative assets. The BTC dominance metric, however, rose from 54% to 56% during the week, suggesting that capital rotated from altcoins into Bitcoin rather than exiting crypto entirely.
Despite the dip, derivatives data remained constructive: open interest on CME Bitcoin futures held near all-time highs, suggesting large players did not exit their positions but instead added hedges.
Zcash Crosslink Upgrade Goes Live
The Zcash network successfully activated the Crosslink protocol upgrade during this week. Crosslink is a hybrid consensus mechanism that combines the security of Zcash's existing proof-of-work chain with a proof-of-stake finality layer, enabling faster transaction finality for transparent (t-addr) transactions.
Key improvements introduced by Crosslink:
- Transaction finality reduced from ~20 minutes to under 2 minutes for transparent transactions
- Staking rewards for ZEC holders who delegate to validators
- Reduced dependency on mining pools for network security
- Foundation for future shielded (z-addr) performance improvements
ZEC price responded positively at first, gaining 12% in the 24 hours following the upgrade announcement, before retracing alongside the broader market downturn.
ETH Spot ETFs Record $120M in Net Outflows
US-listed Ethereum spot ETFs posted net outflows of $120 million across three consecutive trading sessions — the largest three-day outflow streak since the products launched. Grayscale's ETHE continued to see the largest redemptions, while BlackRock's ETHA remained relatively stable with modest outflows.
Analysts attributed the outflow streak to the same election-driven risk reduction affecting Bitcoin, compounded by uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's next rate decision. ETH itself fell 11% during the week, underperforming BTC.
Altcoin Market: Broad Decline
The total altcoin market cap declined from $1.1T to approximately $980B over the week. Notable movers:
- SOL fell 13% to $168, tracking BTC's decline
- AVAX dropped 15% amid broader L1 rotation out of risk
- XMR held relatively steady (-3%), benefiting from its privacy narrative during volatile periods
- LINK fell 9% despite a Chainlink CCIP mainnet milestone announcement
What to Watch Next Week
With US elections concluded, analysts expect either a relief rally or continued consolidation depending on the outcome and its perceived implications for crypto regulation. Key levels to watch for Bitcoin: support at $60,000 and resistance at $67,500. The Federal Reserve meeting on November 7th will also be closely watched for signals on interest rate direction.
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