BTC $81,248 
ETH $2,370 
USDT $0.9990 
BNB $722.65 
XRP $1.32 
USDC $0.9996 
SOL $102.95 
TRX $0.3312 
FIGR_HELOC $1.04
ZEC $1,101 Four altcoins face resistance as traders test liquidity levels
NEAR, XRP, Zcash and Chainlink struggle to hold gains amid weak trading volume and technical headwinds.
Key takeaways
- NEAR's steep climb. The token more than tripled from its August base near $1.60 to trade above $4.94 by mid-October.
- XRP weakness persists. XRP fell about 19% from approximately $1.66 in late September to $1.346 on October 15.
- Zcash drops sharply. ZEC fell approximately 30% in under three weeks from a late-September high near $1,700 to $1,199.
What happened
NEAR rejected the $6.00 resistance level on October 12 and fell back to $4.94, with sellers stepping in at the top during a sharp reversal that wiped out most gains. The token more than tripled from its August base near $1.60, but now faces a critical test at the short-term average near $4.65, with further support at the October 8 low near $4.30.
XRP trades near $1.346 after declining approximately 19% from around $1.66 in late September. The orange moving average near $1.34 has held the coin from falling deeper, but resistance sits overhead at $1.38 to $1.39 where buyers need to close above to change the technical picture.
Zcash tumbled approximately 30% in under three weeks from a late-September high near $1,700 to $1,199. The blue moving average near $1,190 has supported the coin twice in the past week, with bounces stalling under the cyan and green averages near $1,230 and $1,285.
First $1.52Latest $1.31-13.8% over the period
Points are daily observations, not closing prices.
Why it matters
Volume has dried up across all four tokens compared with rallies in August and September. Trading volume on recent red candles lacks the strength needed to support new moves, suggesting that both buyers and sellers are hesitant to commit at current levels. This sideways action reflects a broader market pause as traders wait for clearer direction.
XRP received institutional backing during the week. Ripple expanded into the leveraged ETF market through its Ripple Prime brokerage platform, and Standard Chartered launched custody support for Ripple's native stablecoin, RLUSD. Separately, Evernorth, which holds 473 million XRP tokens, debuted on Nasdaq on October 12 and partnered with Ripple, Kraken, Coinbase and BitGo to deploy those tokens into institutional strategies starting in Q4 2026.
The XRP Ledger fixed a critical integer overflow bug that dated to 2015 and could have allowed attackers to mint large amounts of XRP beyond the fixed 100 billion supply. The team confirmed that no extra XRP was created and the circulating supply remains about 99.986 billion.
What is still unclear
- Whether Chainlink faced specific technical or fundamental developments during the period, as the price analysis report does not include detailed information about LINK movements or catalysts.
Questions readers ask
Why did NEAR drop from $6.00 to $4.94?
NEAR spiked to $6.00 on October 12 but faced a sharp rejection, with sellers waiting at the top to sell into the strength. The large red candle with a long upper wick reversed most of the gains and pushed the price back toward support levels.
What happened to XRP's price this week?
XRP fell approximately 19% from around $1.66 in late September to $1.346 on October 15. The orange moving average near $1.34 has provided support, but resistance overhead at $1.38 to $1.39 has blocked attempted recoveries amid declining trading volume.
Is Zcash oversold after its 30% drop?
ZEC fell approximately 30% in under three weeks from $1,700 to $1,199, but the daily RSI sits at 45, a neutral reading that suggests momentum has cooled without reaching oversold conditions. The blue moving average near $1,190 has held twice in the past week, providing a foundation for potential recovery.
