Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP Hit Make-or-Break Levels After Brutal Sell-Off

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, dropped to $65,420.59, falling 4.8% in 24 hours and 13.6% over the past week, according to CoinGecko data. Ether and XRP declined even more sharply, and the levels traders had marked as potential rebound points gave way one after another.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, lost 5.7% to trade at $1,826, leaving it down 18.2% for the week. XRP fell 6.1% to $0.9573, pushing the token back below the $1 mark. Solana suffered the biggest decline among the top coins, sliding 8.6% to $72.66.

Bitcoin Slices Through the $67,000 Target Zone

Gareth Soloway, chief market strategist at Verified Investing, had warned that a break below $75,500 would open a path toward $66,000 to $67,000. Bitcoin initially stalled near $67,500 but has since broken through the entire zone and now trades roughly $1,500 below its lower end.

The sell-off has knocked several key chart levels out of play:

• Resistance: $75,500 has flipped from support into resistance.
• Trend line: Bitcoin has dropped below a trend line drawn from a major high in June 2026 — the same line that marked the breakout point of an earlier inverse head-and-shoulders pattern.
• Fibonacci: The price has fallen further below the 0.618 retracement of its full rally, a level traders often watch for a potential bounce.

The Bull Case Is Now Under Pressure

Soloway said he began buying small amounts of Bitcoin near $67,000, along with some Solana. He argued that a recent higher high on the chart pointed to a short-term bottom, and on that view the drop would represent a pullback within a larger recovery rather than the start of a new downtrend.

That thesis has a clear line in the sand. If Bitcoin prints a lower low beneath its previous cycle low, the higher-low structure would fail — a signal that the cycle bottom has not yet formed. With the price now below the target zone, the market is moving closer to testing that line.

Ethereum Falls Through Its Buy Zone

Ether has slipped below the trend line it had broken above earlier and now trades under the area where buyers had been expected to step in.

Soloway said he went long Ether at an average price of $1,952, using roughly a quarter of a full position, and planned to add to the trade near $1,850. At $1,826, the price now sits below both levels. Ether's market value has fallen to approximately $223 billion.

XRP Loses $1 Again

XRP first slipped below $1 earlier in the week before bouncing back to $1.02, but that rebound has now faded. At $0.9573, the token sits below its August low of about 98.5 cents and is down 16.9% for the week.

On the four-hour chart, the relative strength index (RSI) had been rising from its lows even as the price fell. That divergence can point to fading selling pressure, but it has not yet produced a lasting bounce.

• Downside: The next major support sits at $0.90, about 6% below the current price.
• Upside: Buyers would need to reclaim the $1.037 to $1.05 range to regain short-term control.

Altcoins Bleed Harder

Over the past week, the sell-off has hit large altcoins harder than Bitcoin:

• BNB: $586.22, down 6.3% in 24 hours and 13.9% over seven days
• Solana: $72.66, down 8.6% in 24 hours and 18.0% over seven days

Traders often watch this kind of Bitcoin-versus-altcoin spread as a barometer of risk appetite during broad sell-offs.