Crypto Week: Selling Pressure Dominates and Bitcoin Tests the US$ 76 Thousand Mark
Monday, May 18, 2026. The week begins with the crypto market immersed in fear territory, after seven days of selling pressure that brought Bitcoin down to US$ 76.288 and left Ethereum bleeding at US$ 2.092. The Fear & Greed Index plummeted to 28 points, signaling that panic has taken hold of traders.
Bitcoin lost 6.6% on the week and is flirting dangerously with technical support at US$ 76.221. If it breaks, the next floor is at US$ 73.856 — a level we haven't seen since March. Ethereum is even worse: a 10.4% drop in seven days and RSI plummeting to 24 points, extreme oversold territory.
What stands out most is not just the magnitude of the decline, but its uniformity. Of the top 10 cryptocurrencies, only two closed in the green for the week. This is not technical correction — it's classic flight-to-safety, with investors abandoning risk en masse.
Bitcoin: RSI at 37 and Testing Critical Support Levels
Bitcoin's technical scenario is tense, but not desperate. With RSI at 37.70, we're approaching the oversold zone that historically generated bounces. The problem is that the moving averages structure is clearly bearish: SMA50 at US$ 75.624 versus SMA200 at US$ 81.429 — a gap of 7.1% that signals a consolidated downtrend.
Análise Técnica — Bitcoin
The current price of US$ 76.288 is practically glued to weekly support. Breaking this level opens the path to US$ 73.856, where we will likely see more aggressive institutional buying. The immediate resistance is at US$ 81.052 — a level that needs to be reclaimed with volume to validate any reversal attempt.
Increasing volume during the decline indicates this is not just retail profit-taking. There is institutional selling happening, possibly related to recent regulatory developments in the US that our team covered extensively.
Ethereum: Extreme Oversold with RSI at 24
If Bitcoin is under pressure, Ethereum is being massacred. RSI at 24 points is extreme oversold territory — a level we last saw during the November 2022 crash. The difference is that now we have the staking structure as fundamental support, something that can generate buying pressure when panic subsides.
Análise Técnica — Ethereum
The price broke through all major moving averages and is testing absolute support at US$ 2.093. According to CoinTelegraph data, traders are positioned for further declines, but RSI this low historically precedes violent reversals. SMA50 12.9% below SMA200 confirms the bearish trend, but also suggests that the worst-case may already be priced in.
Asset Movement
The week's losers rank tells the complete story of gloom: Bitcoin Cash leading the declines with -11.0%, followed by Flare (-6.7%) and Dogecoin (-6.2%). On the gainers' side, only niche projects like KITE (+6.1%) and H (+4.8%) managed to swim against the current.
Stablecoin Rates
Macro Context and News
The global market of US$ 2.54 trillion reflects generalized nervousness. 24-hour volume of US$ 95.41 billion shows there is liquidity, but directed towards exits. Bitcoin's dominance at 60.1% increased slightly — typical during flight-to-quality periods within crypto itself.
According to CoinDesk, interesting developments are happening behind the scenes: Stripe expanding into DeFi, ex-OpenAI executives betting on crypto miners for AI, and the UK advancing with 24/7 tokenization. But the market is ignoring positive fundamentals — classic technical bear market behavior.
In Brazil, our recent coverage of the end of DREX and the PIX leaks gain extra relevance. With traditional financial infrastructure under pressure, stablecoins could benefit indirectly from value migration.
What to Expect Next Week
- Bitcoin support at US$ 76.221 — break or defense will define direction
- Ethereum's RSI at 24 suggests imminent technical bounce
- Institutional volume may indicate whether this is final capitulation or more selling pressure
- Correlation with traditional markets remains high — S&P 500 will set direction
- Fear & Greed below 30 for more than a week historically marks local bottom
With RSI near oversold on Bitcoin and extremely oversold on Ethereum, the technical setup favors contrarian buying in the coming days. But the moving averages structure still bearish requires caution. Smart money is probably already positioning for the bounce — the question is timing.
Disclaimer: Crypto Radar is published daily by the ON3X team for exclusively informational purposes. This content does not constitute investment recommendation. Do your own research before making financial decisions.