Bitcoin is heading into the end of the third quarter of 2026 with a gain of about 44%, trading at $84,592.36 and posting its best quarterly performance since the final three months of 2024.
That return has comfortably beaten traditional assets over the same stretch. Gold is up 8.7%, while the S&P 500 has added 2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is also up 2%, according to TradingView data cited by CoinDesk. Bitcoin has also outperformed Nvidia, which is up 11%.
Even after the rally, BTC does not look stretched if measured against its all-time high. CoinDesk noted that bitcoin remains 48% below the record price of $126,000 reached in October last year.
Strength has not been limited to bitcoin. ETH, XRP, SOL, UNI and NEAR have each gained between 40% and 150%.
From oversold bounce to regulatory support
CoinDesk said the first phase of the move was driven mainly by oversold conditions that drew in bargain hunters, along with a short squeeze that pushed prices higher. More recently, regulation has become part of the story.
Tagus Capital said the rally is "anchored by the U.S. SEC’s Sept. 17 decision to grant a temporary, five-year innovation exemption allowing qualifying venues to facilitate secondary trading of tokenized U.S. stocks using automated market makers and blockchain liquidity pools."
The firm said Ethereum could benefit disproportionately from that opening because it serves as the leading public blockchain for tokenized assets.
Analysts see a bull market, but not a straight line up
Some market watchers now believe a broader crypto bull run has already started, though they are still warning about volatility.
"In our view, this is already a bull market, but that does not rule out sudden pullbacks, so it is worth exercising heightened caution until clearer signals of a transition to active growth emerge," Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, said in an email.
He added: "The optimism surrounding altcoins is clearly boosting the bulls’ chances in BTC, but in this case, it is better not to get ahead of oneself by rushing to buy coins."
Technical picture and market structure
CoinDesk also highlighted a separate signal that has historically come before major bull runs. Bitcoin closed the week ended Sept. 20 above its 50-week moving average for the first time in 45 weeks, a move the publication described as a potentially important confirmation that the bear market has ended.
The daily candlestick chart showed bitcoin rallying above $84,000, clearing resistance at the May high and reaching its highest level since January.
If that move above the May high holds, it would confirm the breakout. CoinDesk said there has been little recent trading activity between $84,000 and $97,000, leaving limited overhead friction and opening the door to a possible run toward six figures if momentum continues.
Other market headlines listed by CoinDesk
In the same Daybook entry, CoinDesk pointed to several related developments across traditional finance and crypto markets.
Reuters reported that global stocks rose on Monday as signs of strong AI demand lifted technology shares, while lower oil prices supported bonds. CNBC said U.S. Treasury yields moved lower early Monday, with the 10-year yield at 4.967% after reaching a 19-year high of 5.041% last week. The 2-year yield stood at 4.729% and the 30-year yield at 5.306%.
CoinDesk also said analysts see Coinbase, Robinhood and Circle as possible early beneficiaries of the SEC’s tokenized-stock initiative if more U.S. securities move onchain.
- Hyperliquid debuted 1Perp futures linked to the "bitcoin VIX."
- The European Central Bank deployed the Pontes platform to settle wholesale tokenized assets in central-bank money.
- Bitcoin hit $85,000 as a short squeeze forced out $648 million of bearish bets.
- X sued some of its own users over what it described as a fake bitcoin news bot farm.
- Crypto posted a bullish bounce after a Federal Reserve rate hike.
- Hana Bank issued South Korea’s first digital bond using Euroclear’s blockchain.
- Bitcoin rose above $81,000 while NEAR jumped 23% on Zcash swap traffic.
Stablecoin report mentioned in the newsletter
The newsletter also referenced CoinDesk’s report, The Definitive Stablecoin Landscape Series: Asia Pacific, which examines how stablecoins are moving into regulated finance in the region, the rules taking shape there, the use cases being tested and RLUSD’s role.