The month of October, often dubbed “Uptober” in the crypto community due to its historical tendency for positive price movement, is so far living up to its reputation. Bitcoin is surging toward new record price levels, with alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) also experiencing gains.
After a brief push above $125,000 followed by a slight pullback on Sunday, Bitcoin sustained its upward momentum on Monday. It reached a fresh all-time peak of $126,223 during trading hours in the United States. Currently, BTC is trading around $125,200, representing a 1.5% increase over the previous day.
While a softer dollar has contributed to this rise, the primary cryptocurrency has also achieved new highs when valued in Euros, exceeding 106,000 EUR and surpassing its previous high from January. Data from TradingView also reveals that Bitcoin has broken through its mid-August peak when priced in Swiss francs (99,642 CHF).
The positive trend in Bitcoin is reflected across the broader cryptocurrency market. Ethereum’s ether jumped by 4% to reach $4,700, marking its strongest price point in over three weeks. This performance is contributing to the overall positive movement of the CoinDesk 20 Index. The popular memecoin , along with BNB , the native token of the BNB Chain closely associated with the Binance exchange, both experienced gains of approximately 6%.
Shares of crypto-related companies showed mixed performance on Monday. Robinhood (HOOD), the retail trading platform, declined by 3% after Galaxy Digital announced GalaxyOne, a new cryptocurrency trading app that aims to replicate Robinhood’s offerings. In contrast, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) stock surged by 7% as investors reacted positively to the company’s move to directly compete in the crypto brokerage market.
Other companies with ties to the crypto industry, including Coinbase (COIN), Circle (CRCL), and Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MTSR), all saw gains of approximately 2%. This performance mirrored the general positive trend in the cryptocurrency market, where the CoinDesk 20 Index indicated modest gains for most cryptocurrencies.
Mining stocks experienced the most significant gains, propelled by the news that OpenAI has entered into an agreement to purchase large quantities of AI chips from AMD, valued in the tens of billions of dollars. This deal could potentially grant OpenAI a stake of up to 10% in the chip manufacturer, which led to positive reactions in other AI-related sectors.
Marathon Digital (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and Cleanspark (CLSK) each increased by around 10%. This growth was likely driven by optimism surrounding data center demand and potentially amplified by the rise in Bitcoin’s price earlier in the day.
A confluence of positive factors for BTC
According to Jean-David Péquignot, Chief Commercial Officer at Deribit, the options trading platform recently acquired by Coinbase (COIN), Bitcoin’s current surge is “fueled by a perfect storm of macroeconomic tailwinds.”
In a Monday update, Péquignot stated that the potential shutdown of the U.S. government is driving investments into assets perceived as resistant to inflation, such as gold and Bitcoin. Furthermore, substantial inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, combined with decreasing spot supplies on exchanges, are creating a “self-reinforcing bull cycle.”
He added that technical indicators also suggest further price increases, with Bitcoin’s double-bottom breakout indicating potential short-term targets in the $128,000-$130,000 range, and possible upside toward $138,000. However, he also cautioned about currently overbought conditions, raising the possibility of a temporary pullback to between $118,000 and $120,000.
“From here, keep an eye out for volatility spikes and changes in put option volume, as these could signal potential near-term corrections,” Péquignot advised. “Bullish investors are targeting $130,000+, while bearish investors might find opportunities when the market is overbought.”