Bitcoin Scales New Heights Above $86K on ETF Demand Surge

Bitcoin surged above $86K for its third consecutive week, driven by institutional money flowing back into US spot Bitcoin ETFs. According to Bloomberg, this demand pushed Bitcoin's price up to approximately $86,850 on October 2, 2026. It then cooled off and settled around $86,300 to $86,400.

The weekly gain came in at about 2%. For the quarter ending in September 2026, Bitcoin posted gains of around 40%, its best quarterly showing since late 2024. This recovery was sparked by a significant influx of capital into US spot Bitcoin ETFs on October 1, with net inflows reaching $102.7 million.

This figure is notable because the prior session had seen $148.7 million leave the funds, flipping the direction of travel. BlackRock's ETF did much of the heavy lifting, drawing around $196 million on its own. Since the funds launched in January 2024, cumulative inflows have reached roughly $57.6 billion.