Bitcoin Extends Rally to Third Straight Week on ETF Demand

Bitcoin has been on a tear, climbing above $86,000 for the third straight week as investors return to risk assets in October. The cryptocurrency rose 2.66% on October 2 before paring gains, trading around $86,200 at 10:30am in London. This uptrend is largely driven by strong institutional flows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have boosted demand for Bitcoin.

The rise has helped Bitcoin conclude its biggest quarter since the end of 2024, gaining around 40% in the three months through September. Some traders have been calling a bottom for cryptocurrencies, which had been battered since a sharp sell-off in October 2025. Bitcoin's buoyancy comes after emerging relatively unscathed from recent macro trends, including the US Senate's failure to advance a highly anticipated crypto regulation bill and the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike in mid-September.

'Investors globally have observed this relative strength,' said Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto. 'Combined with record-low sentiment two months prior, the sentiment is 'dips are for buying'.'

The early-October boost coincides with a traditional seasonal trend in crypto markets commonly referred to as 'Uptober.' Bitcoin has posted gains in 10 of the last 15 Octobers, and investors are now focused on the US jobs report on October 2, which economists estimate will show non-farm payrolls rising roughly 90,000 in September.