Crypto markets head into the week of Oct. 5 with bitcoin at a key technical level, Ethereum preparing for a major testnet upgrade and several economic releases that could influence risk sentiment.

Bitcoin reclaimed $86,000 early Monday and briefly climbed toward $87,000 before reversing lower. The move brought BTC close to an eight-month high. Traders are now watching the U.S. dollar closely for signs of whether bitcoin can resume its advance or enter another period of consolidation.

The broader technical setup has improved as well. Bitcoin’s 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages are converging toward their first fully bullish alignment since 2025. Such a configuration would add to evidence that the cryptocurrency’s recovery over the past three months remains intact.

The week’s macroeconomic calendar includes the September FOMC minutes, U.S. initial jobless claims and consumer credit data. Eurozone retail sales and preliminary Michigan consumer sentiment are also due.

Ethereum developers are preparing to put the “Glamsterdam” upgrade through another important test on the Sepolia network. The deployment will allow developers to assess proposed improvements related to account abstraction and data availability before a potential mainnet rollout.

What to Watch

All times ET

Crypto

Ethereum core developers are scheduled to activate Glamsterdam on Sepolia. The testnet upgrade will serve as a key rehearsal for proposed Ethereum changes involving account abstraction enhancements and data availability optimizations.

Macro

• Oct. 6, 5:00 a.m.: Eurozone Retail Sales MoM for August — estimate 0.4%, versus -0.6% previously
• Oct. 7, 2:00 p.m.: U.S. FOMC Meeting Minutes from the Sept. 15-16 meeting
• Oct. 7, 3:00 p.m.: U.S. Consumer Credit for August — estimate $12.5 billion, versus $18 billion previously
• Oct. 8, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for the period ending Oct. 3 — estimate 195K, versus 197K previously
• Oct. 9, 10:00 a.m.: U.S. Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index preliminary October reading — estimate 48.1, unchanged from 48.1

Earnings

None scheduled.

Token Events

Aave: A proposal before Aave DAO would allow Sentora to operate a new independent lending market in exchange for a 50/50 split of profits. The Aave Request for Final Comment (ARFC) outlines a framework for Sentora to run externally curated Hub and Spoke instances on Aave V4, with Ethereum designated for the initial deployment.

Sentora would independently determine collateral, risk parameters and interest-rate curves outside the Aave DAO’s core risk mandate. The DAO would maintain smart-contract administrative control and receive 50% of revenue. Voting ends Oct. 5.

AirSwap: AirSwap is conducting a signaling vote on whether Consensys should temporarily pause automated AST sales if the token price falls below its self-established minimum threshold. The sales are intended to cover operational expenses. Voting ends Oct. 5.

Derive: Derive token holders are voting on a DIP that would increase the share of applicable protocol fees used for weekly DRV buybacks from 35% to 50%. The proposal would not alter the existing buyback mechanism or execution schedule. Voting ends Oct. 5.

Balancer: Balancer is considering a joint treasury resolution related to its recent protocol wind-down. The proposal would settle token-swap commitments between BalancerDAO and CoW DAO and establish the orderly return and pro-rata distribution of treasury-held COW and BAL. Voting ends Oct. 6.

Unlocks

• Oct. 5: Canton (CC) — 0.38% of circulating supply, worth $19.18 million
• Oct. 8: Stable (STABLE) — 3.3% of circulating supply, worth $24 million

Token Launches

No confirmed major token launches are scheduled.

Conferences

• Oct. 6-7: Digital Assets Week — London
• Oct. 7-8: TOKEN 2049 — Singapore