With the third quarter coming to an end, bitcoin (BTC) is demonstrating significant strength with a 44% increase, marking its most impressive quarter since the final three months of 2024.
According to information provided by TradingView, gold has risen by 8.7%, while the S&P 500 has climbed a modest 2%. In addition, the technology-focused Nasdaq index on Wall Street has only advanced by 2%.
This represents a complete reversal from earlier in the year, when bitcoin lagged behind while equities surged due to the artificial intelligence boom.
The positive developments for BTC supporters do not stop there, as the cryptocurrency is also outperforming major equities like NVDA, one of the world’s largest companies, which is up 11%.
Despite this robust growth, bitcoin does not necessarily appear overvalued when examining its current price against its historical peak. Even with the considerable upward movement, valuations remain down 48% from the all-time high of $126,000 reached in October of last year.
Various other digital assets have likewise posted notable gains, with ETH, XRP, SOL, UNI, and NEAR surging between 40% and 150%.
The initial upward momentum was primarily fueled by oversold levels that drew in bargain hunters, alongside a short squeeze that drove prices higher. More recently, however, regulatory tailwinds have begun to take effect.
Tagus Capital states that the rally is supported by the U.S. SEC’s September 17 choice to issue a temporary, five-year innovation waiver that enables eligible platforms to host secondary trading of tokenized American equities using automated market makers and blockchain liquidity pools.
The organization anticipates that Ethereum will capture an outsized share of advantages from this regulatory opening because it functions as the principal public blockchain for tokenized financial instruments.
Certain analysts are presently convinced that a comprehensive cryptocurrency market bull market has commenced, though they continue to urge caution.
Alex Kuptsikevich, who serves as the senior market analyst at FxPro, remarked via email that this is already a bull market in their assessment, but noted that this does not eliminate the possibility of sudden pullbacks. He advised maintaining heightened caution until more definitive indicators of a transition into active growth appear.
He cautioned that while the enthusiasm surrounding altcoins is clearly strengthening the position of buyers in BTC, it is preferable not to get ahead of oneself by hastily acquiring coins, urging everyone to stay alert.
What’s trending
- Bitcoin’s price has cleared a key hurdle that has historically preceded major bull runs (CoinDesk): The final barrier standing between bitcoin and a potentially broader recovery has fallen. Bitcoin closed the week ended Sept. 20 above its 50-week moving average for the first time in 45 weeks, marking a potentially important confirmation that the bear market has ended.
- Stocks rise on AI optimism; lower oil helps bonds (Reuters): Global stocks rose on Monday, recovering some poise, as evidence of booming AI demand lifted tech shares and oil retreated on reports that more supply was leaving the Gulf than thought despite the conflict. The bond market rallied, with European debt leading gains.
- Treasury yields ease as global borrowing costs tumble (CNBC): Treasury yields were lower early Monday, tracking a global easing of government borrowing costs amid falling oil prices. The 10-year Treasury not stood at 4.967%, after hitting a 19-year high of 5.041% last week. The 2-year T-bond was at 4.729%, and the 30-year at 5.306%.
- Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle could be early winners of SEC’s tokenized-stock push, analysts say (CoinDesk): The SEC’s tokenized-stock experiment may be narrow for now, but analysts are already pointing to Coinbase, Robinhood and Circle as potential beneficiaries if more U.S. securities move onchain.
Today’s signal
The chart displays the daily price movements of bitcoin utilizing candlestick formations.
Valuations surged past $84,000, breaking through the resistance level established in May and hitting the highest level recorded since January.
Should this movement above the May peak be maintained, it will serve as confirmation of the breakout. Given the minimal trading activity that previously occurred in the band between $84,000 and $97,000, the market encounters minimal overhead resistance, establishing the conditions for a potential clear path toward six-figure valuations if this momentum persists.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/daybook-us/2026/09/21/bitcoin-s-44-gain-in-third-quarter-teases-full-blown-crypto-bull-run.
