Bitcoin trades near 50-day moving average amid short-term holder selling

Bitcoin traded at $81,511 on October 19, 2026, sitting just beneath its updated 50-day moving average of $81,538 after briefly closing above it the prior day. The token recorded a 0.7% daily decline and a 2% drop over the week, leaving it 35.4% below its record peak. During the week of October 12 to 18, prices oscillated between $79,676 and $84,262, bringing month-to-date losses to 2.1%.

According to Glassnode, recent downward momentum stemmed from short-term holders moving assets to exchanges to lock in profits, marking the largest platform inflows of the year before reverting to annual averages. Meanwhile, institutional demand in the US showed mixed signals: spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $527 million in net inflows on October 19, following an $82 million outflow on October 16 and a period-high single-day redemption of $487 million on October 7.

Broader crypto market capitalization fell 3.2% in 24 hours, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index dropping to 44. Russell Thompson, Chief Investment Officer at Hilbert Group, maintained a short-term cautious stance adopted on October 9 while remaining positive on the asset's medium-term path, as Bitcoin tested its 50-day benchmark for the fourth time in 2026.