Bitcoin Surges Ahead of Wall Street, Gold in September

Bitcoin's performance in September marked a significant departure from traditional markets, as it gained roughly 7% while the S&P 500 remained flat and gold fell over 6%. This divergence has strengthened the argument that cryptocurrency is starting to trade on its own catalysts rather than following Wall Street.

In Q3, Bitcoin ended up about 42.5% above its quarterly open of $58,585, making it one of its strongest third-quarter performances on record since 2013. The setup for Q4 is not without obstacles, however, as Bitcoin faces a major concentration of supply between $84,000 and $86,500.

Bitfinex estimates that ETF demand could help absorb overhead supply and support another breakout in Q4. Institutional spot demand has already provided considerable support, with US spot Bitcoin ETFs recording nine consecutive days of inflows totaling $3.08 billion through late September.