Crypto News September 18: Bitcoin Tops $77K, DeFi Market Jumps 6.3%

Crypto News Now: Nostra Exploit, Polymarket DeFi Move and Bitcoin Rise Cryptocurrency news today, September 18, 2026: The global market cap rose 1.1% to $2.72 trillion, with Bitcoin and Ethereum gaining, while the Fear and Greed Index climbed to 56, signaling Greed. Crypto Market Update Today: Prices, Volume & Trends According to CoinGecko data recorded on September 18, 2026, at 3:30 AM UTC, the global crypto market capitalization stood at $2.72 trillion, surging 1.1% over 24 hours. Total trading volume was $78 billion. Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance remains strong at 57%, while Ethereum (ETH) holds 11.1%. The largest gainers in the industry over the past day are Data Availability and Rollup Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis (Note: BTC and ETH are often viewed as less volatile historically, but still risky. The data recorded from Official CoinGecko Data on 18 September 2026 at 3:30 AM UTC) Bitcoin (BTC) price today at $77410, up 1.2% over the last 24 hours. Its trading volume reached approximately $24.2 billion, while its market capitalization stood at around $1.55 trillion. Ethereum (ETH) price today is at $2473.32, up 1.6% over 24 hours. Ethereum recorded about $12.3 billion in trading volume, while its market capitalization stood near $301.9 billion. Top Trending Crypto Coins Price in 24 Hours Several trending assets also posted notable moves over the last 24 hours. Arbitrum (ARB): $0.2185, up 31.9%, with $606.26 million in trading volume. NEAR Protocol (NEAR): $3.40, up 25.8%, with $1.68 billion in trading volume. Firo (FIRO): $0.903, up 6.4%, with $120,545 in trading volume. Zcash (ZEC): $1,486.80, up 7.4%, with $2.35 billion in trading volume. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU): $0.007595, up 7.0%, with $181.17 million in trading volume. NEAR Protocol and Zcash recorded the highest trading volumes among the listed trending coins, while Arbitrum posted the largest 24-hour gain at 31.9%. Top 3 Crypto Gainers in 24 hours (Ranked by 24-hour percentage gain): Marscat Token price today (MCAT): $0.9239, skyrocketed 255.2%, trading activity $15.34M. Tread.fi price today (TREAD): $0.6602, climbed 56.8%, trading activity $5.14M. Orbio.so price today (ORBIO): $0.04884, jumped 76.4%, trading activity $3.90M. MCAT recorded the largest percentage increase among the listed assets, rising more than 255%. However, percentage gains of this magnitude should be considered alongside market capitalization, liquidity, and trading volume, because smaller or less-liquid tokens can experience unusually large price movements. Top 3 Crypto Losers in 24 hours (Ranked by 24-hour percentage loss): ALLINU price (ALLINU): $0.01492, lower by 19.4%, trading activity close to $8.36 million. Magma Finance price (MAGMA): $0.2046, slipped 20.2%, trading activity around $5.66 million. Chump Coin price (CHUMP): $0.02491, down 9.0%, with trading volume near $4.93 million. Magma Finance recorded the sharpest decline among the listed tokens, falling more than 20%.