Treasury's major decision made this risk asset beat gold by 10-to-1

The third quarter of 2026 turned out to be quite extraordinary for Bitcoin (BTC).

This year, the leading cryptocurrency saw its best-ever third quarter, delivering a 42.71% return against the average figure of 8.67%, as per CoinGlass.

In fact, Bitcoin sat in the green zone during all the three months of the last quarter: July (7.36%), August (24.95%), and September (6.33%).

Bitcoin, trading around $65,000, surged toward $75,000 within days of the twin announcements. Around a week ago, Bitcoin even surpassed the $87,000 price mark.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading above $84,000.

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Gold gains only 4% in Q3

Gold, on the other hand, didn't have a remarkable Q3 at all.

A hawkish Federal Reserve policy, rising U.S. Treasury yields, and a stronger U.S. dollar suppressed the demand for the precious metal, and it surged a modest 4% during the last quarter.

However, the same pressures should apply to Bitcoin as it is also considered a hedge asset like gold. But there are other factors at play, as the latest Citibank note reveals.

The bank said the Senate vote failure of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act "narrowed the path" to crypto market structure legislation, but it stressed that the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) announcements "dampened negative sentiment."