Crypto Week Ahead: Fed, ECB and BOJ Rate Decisions, Coinbase Earnings

The week beginning October 26 will be dominated by central bank policy announcements, major economic releases and earnings reports from leading cryptocurrency and financial companies.

The Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada are scheduled to announce their interest-rate decisions on Wednesday, followed by the European Central Bank on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday. However, investors are expected to pay closer attention to policymakers’ comments and forward guidance than to the rate decisions themselves.

Market participants will particularly watch for signals from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh about the central bank’s next steps and the possibility of a policy change in December.

“Traders are currently less focused on the specific rate decision and more interested in any statements from Warsh regarding the upcoming December meeting,” MEXC CEO Vugar Usi Zade told CoinDesk. He added that markets already expect rates to remain unchanged, meaning such an outcome is unlikely to provide a major boost to risk assets.

The earnings calendar will also be packed, with Galaxy Digital, Robinhood Markets, Coinbase Global and Strategy scheduled to report results. PayPal and Mastercard are also due to release earnings, potentially adding volatility to an already eventful week for financial markets.

Key Events to Watch

Cryptocurrency Developments

• October 26: Blast will shut down its standard withdrawal interface. Users will still be able to withdraw assets through the network’s bridge contracts on Ethereum.
• October 28: The deadline for comments on IRS Notice 2026-62, which addresses potentially abusive tax strategies involving U.S. investment funds.
• October 29: Unichain plans to transfer sequencer operations from Uniswap Labs to the Optimism Foundation through OP Enterprise.
• October 30: Under Balancer’s BIP-928 wind-down schedule, pools that support pausing are expected to switch to withdrawals-only mode. Protocol fees will be reduced to zero where contracts permit, and bug-bounty coverage will end.

Macroeconomic Calendar

Tuesday, October 27

• 8:30 a.m.: U.S. September durable goods orders, month over month. Preliminary forecast: 1.5%, compared with 0.0% previously.
• 10:00 a.m.: U.S. September new home sales. Estimate: 650,000, down from 684,000 previously.

Wednesday, October 28

• 9:45 a.m.: Bank of Canada interest-rate announcement, with the previous rate at 2.25%, alongside its Monetary Policy Report.
• 2:00 p.m.: Federal Reserve interest-rate decision. The previous target range was 3.75%–4.00%.
• 2:30 p.m.: Fed press conference.

Thursday, October 29

• 8:30 a.m.: U.S. third-quarter GDP, annualized quarter over quarter. Advance estimate: 3.2%, compared with 2.2% previously.
• 8:30 a.m.: U.S. September Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, with the previous annual reading at 3.4%. Core PCE inflation previously stood at 3.0%.
• 8:30 a.m.: Initial U.S. jobless claims for the week ending October 24. Estimate: 196,000, compared with 194,000 previously.
• 9:15 a.m.: European Central Bank interest-rate decision. The previous deposit rate was 2.50%.
• 9:45 a.m.: Press conference with ECB President Christine Lagarde.

Friday, October 30

• 6:00 a.m.: Eurozone third-quarter GDP, preliminary estimate, alongside annual GDP growth and September unemployment data. Second-quarter GDP growth was 0.6% quarter over quarter and 1.2% year over year.
• 8:30 a.m.: U.S. third-quarter Employment Cost Index. The previous quarterly increase was 0.9%.
• 11:00 p.m.: Bank of Japan interest-rate decision and Outlook Report. The previous rate was 1.25%.

Corporate Earnings Schedule

Tuesday, October 27

• Galaxy Digital (GLXY): Before market open; estimated earnings of $0.03.
• PayPal Holdings (PYPL): Before market open; estimated earnings of $1.34.
• SoFi Technologies (SOFI): Before market open; estimated earnings of $0.17.
• Robinhood Markets (HOOD): After market close; estimated earnings of $0.55.

Thursday, October 29

• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): Before market open; estimated earnings of $1.98.
• Mastercard (MA): Before market open; estimated earnings of $5.16.
• Coinbase Global (COIN): After market close; estimated earnings of -$0.10.
• Strategy (MSTR): After market close; estimated earnings of $8.34.

Friday, October 30

– Cboe Global Markets (CBOE): Before market open; estimated earnings of $3.42.

Token Governance Votes and Proposals

Several decentralized organizations have important governance decisions scheduled during the week.

• ENS DAO: Voting ends October 26 on a request for 201,559 USDC to fund the meta-governance working group’s operating costs through Term 7.
• CoW DAO: Voting concludes October 28 on a proposal that would give its core team an ongoing mandate to establish and adjust protocol fee policies within specified limits to generate revenue.
• Space Token: Voting runs until November 1 to choose its November 2026 “Coin of the Month,” which will appear in the Coin Roll Game and receive a dedicated staking pool.

Upcoming Token Unlocks

• October 29 — Collector Crypt (CARDS): Approximately 0.6% of circulating supply will unlock, with an estimated value of $20.9 million.
• November 1 — MemeCore (M): Around 56.11 million tokens, equivalent to roughly 2.8% of circulating supply and valued at approximately $50.34 million, are scheduled for release.

Exchange and Token Events

– October 27, 11:00 p.m.: Binance will discontinue spot trading for Epic Chain (EPIC) and QuickSwap (QUICK).

Conferences and Industry Gatherings

• October 27: The Bridge — New York.
• October 27–29: Ripple Swell — New York.
• October 27–29: Zcon7 — Cancún, Mexico.
• October 27–29: MERGE Madrid — Madrid, Spain.
• October 28–29: Meridian 2026 — Lisbon, Portugal.
• October 29–31: TUM Blockchain Conference — Munich, Germany.

With four major central banks announcing policy decisions, key U.S. inflation and growth figures due, and several prominent crypto companies reporting earnings, the week could provide important signals for digital assets and broader financial markets.

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