No ‘Uptober’ Yet: Bitcoin Slips 2% in a Month That’s Historically Bullish

Bitcoin’s price retook $82,000 on Monday as choppy trading last week stunted the coin’s gains. 

The biggest cryptocurrency by market cap was recently trading for close to $82,393 — up by close to 2% over the past day but still down over a seven-day period. 

Bitcoin has gotten off to a slow start for so-called Uptober, a month when the cryptocurrency has typically surged: Since the beginning of October, bitcoin’s price has dropped by 2%. 

U.S. investors last week cashed out of exchange-traded funds, with speculators redeeming $228.4 million in shares from the investment vehicles managed by BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, according to data from Farside Investors. 

Bitcoin is often moved by investors buying shares of the U.S. ETFs. The funds give investors easy exposure to the asset via shares they can buy on their brokerage accounts. 

Despite the slow October so far, analysts have said that bitcoin is now in a bull market after spending most of 2026 trading under $70,000 — well below its all-time high of $126,080. 

Bitcoin’s price started rallying in August after the U.S. Treasury Department said it would more than double the size of its government debt repurchases. The coin had its best run in three years and third best August ever.  

The coin’s price has recently benefited from the so-called debasement trade: when investors buy certain assets to hedge against currency being devalued. The dollar slid in value in August. 

It continued to have a good September, rising nearly 6% over a 30-day period. Bitcoin in the third quarter of this year had its best three months since 2024. 

After a record third quarter, will October keep the streak alive?