October is typically when Bitcoin makes big gains, so much so that traders have named the month “Uptober.” This year, however, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has struggled. Bitcoin is down 4% over the past 30 days to nearly $110,000 on Halloween, according to Binance data. The decline was even more pronounced for Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, which fell about 10% to around $3,900 today.
“October was a bit disappointing for Bitcoin compared to its strong historical trend, but it’s important to keep perspective: prices have held up well overall, especially after a September that actually resisted the usual weakness,” said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group. Fortune.
The most recent October is the fourth worst for Bitcoin since 2013 and the worst in the last seven years, according to a Fortune analysis. The world’s largest cryptocurrency hasn’t even managed to keep pace with the S&P 500, which has gained about 2.3% this month.
Crypto’s recent woes follow cautious remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during a press conference on Wednesday. After announcing that the Fed would cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, Powell indicated that this might be the last reduction of 2025. “There is now a growing chorus of thinking that maybe this is where we should at least wait for a cycle,” he said.
Even though October ended on a sour note, Bitcoin month started off strong, with the cryptocurrency hitting a new all-time high of nearly $124,000 on October 3. “Uptober is here now. Don’t sell too soon. We’re about to get rich!” a crypto enthusiast posted on X.
But on October 10, crypto markets collapsed and more than $19 billion in traders’ positions evaporated in the largest crypto liquidation event ever tracked by analytics firm CoinGlass.
The crash coincided with President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 100% tariffs on China “on top of” existing tariffs. He then walked back his aggressive rhetoric and cryptocurrency prices stabilized, but not at the highs of early October.
Nonetheless, LMAX Group market strategist Kruger is optimistic that Bitcoin can regain some ground over the next couple of months.
“Historically, the fourth quarter has been one of the best periods for crypto performance,” Kruger said, “so we are still looking for a potential push to all-time highs for Bitcoin and ETH. [Ethereum] until the end of the year.
