Fresh tension in the Middle East hit crypto hard, with prices falling within minutes of the headlines. Nick Valdez of VerifiedInvesting.com says that if Bitcoin keeps sliding, a few key support levels will decide how far Ethereum, XRP and the rest of the market fall.
What triggered the drop
Valdez linked the sharp move to renewed escalation in the Middle East and a social media post from President Trump. Some coins fell far harder than others:
- Cardano (ADA): down almost 7%
- Avalanche (AVAX): down 6.6%
- XRP: down about 4.5% in roughly half an hour
- Solana (SOL): down about 4%
- Ethereum (ETH): barely moved at first
Bitcoin: the driver for everything else
Valdez’s altcoin levels all depend on one thing: whether Bitcoin keeps falling. BTC dropped below $81,000 this week, losing a support zone other analysts had flagged at $81,600 to $82,930. The next levels they are watching sit near $78,200, where the 50-week moving average lies, and then $75,000.
Ethereum: a bull flag under pressure
Valdez sees Ethereum trading inside a bull flag, a pattern that often comes before a move higher. The bottom of that flag gives support at around $2,357 to $2,360. If it holds, ETH could later push toward resistance near $3,200, but it first has to break out of its current range.
He also pointed to BitMine, Tom Lee’s company, which he said holds roughly 5% of all ETH in existence and earns about 3% a year from staking it. If selling continues, he is watching the price level where BitMine’s shares last closed on September 16, a gap that has not yet been filled.
XRP: watching a trend line from August
XRP tried several times to break through resistance on the four-hour chart and failed each time. Valdez is now watching a trend line drawn from XRP’s August 26 peak, which earlier acted as resistance.
If Bitcoin keeps falling, he expects that line to offer support just above $1.278, slightly below $1.30.
Other coins on his radar
- Solana: $100 is a strong psychological level. Below it, Valdez is watching $97, then $90, near an old descending trend line.
- Cardano: support is the level tested in July, August and September. ADA came close to 30 cents earlier, about 28 cents, before sellers took control.
- Avalanche: support sits a little below $10.