Bitcoin rises for third straight week on strong ETF demand

Bitcoin climbed above $86 000 on Friday, extending its rebound into a third straight week as investors returned to risk assets heading into October.

The original cryptocurrency climbed as much as 2.7% to $86 851, before paring gains to trade around $86 400. Bitcoin has risen roughly 2% this week as strong institutional flows into exchange traded funds boosted demand. The rise helped the asset conclude its biggest quarter since the end of 2024, gaining about 40% in the three months through September.

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Some traders have optimistically been calling a bottom for cryptocurrencies, which had been battered for much of 2026 since a sharp selloff last October, after it hit an all-time high above $126 000 that month. The token had at one point this year more than halved from its high.

Bitcoin’s buoyancy comes after it emerged from recent macro trends relatively unscathed. The US Senate’s failure to advance a highly anticipated crypto regulation bill and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in mid-September did nothing to dent the cryptocurrency.

“Investors globally have observed this relative strength,” said Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto. “Combined with record-low sentiment two months prior, the sentiment is dips are for buying.”

The early-October boost coincides with a traditional seasonal trend in crypto markets commonly referred to as “Uptober.” Bitcoin has posted gains in 10 of the last 15 Octobers. Last year’s 7% drop, while not the asset’s worst October, was a particularly disappointing reversal after hitting a record price.

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The move higher also comes ahead of next week’s Token2049 in Singapore, when industry leaders and executives will converge in the city-state amid a more upbeat mood than would have been expected two months ago.

© 2026 Bloomberg

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