Bitcoin's 44% gain in third quarter teases full-blown crypto bull run

As the end of the third quarter nears, bitcoin is standing tall some 44% higher, its best performance since the final three months of 2024.

Gold is up 8.7% while the S&P 500 has added just 2%. Meanwhile, Wall Street's tech-heavy index, Nasdaq, has gained just 2%, according to data source TradingView.

This marks a complete change from early this year when bitcoin was the underperformer and stocks, gripped by the AI fervour, were on a tear.
The good news for BTC bulls doesn't end there. The cryptocurrency is also outperforming names like NVDA, one of the world's biggest companies, up 11%.

And yet, bitcoin doesn't necessarily look expensive based purely on where it trades relative to its record price. Despite the solid rally, prices are still down 48% from the record price of $126,000 in October last year.

Other tokens have also chalked up impressive gains. ETH, XRP, SOL, UNI and NEAR have registered gains between 40%-150%.

The initial rise was mainly driven by oversold conditions that attracted bargain hunters and a short squeeze that pushed prices higher. But recently, a regulatory tailwind has kicked in.