Bitcoin Breaks $120K As ‘Uptober’ Momentum Rises, Shutdown Fails To Stall Gains

Bitcoin pushed above $120,000 late Thursday, extending a strong run that began in September and kept rolling into October, a month traders call Uptober for its bullish record.

The move followed a quick rebound earlier in the week. After an intraday dip to $114,000 on Oct. 1, Bitcoin recovered to trade near $118,700 to $118,900 by Oct. 2, with highs reaching $119,500. The market leaned into seasonality, with Bitcoin posting average October gains of 14.4% since 2013.

Broader crypto joined the advance. Ether rose 3.2% to $4,536. XRP added 1.8% to $3.04, while Solana gained 4.2% to $233.80. The total market value climbed about 2% to $4.2 trillion.

The rally arrived despite a US government shutdown that began at the start of the month. Trading desks cited steady dip buying and Q4 repositioning, a familiar pattern in past Uptober phases.

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Gadi Chait, investment head at Xapo Bank, said: “October has historically been a bullish month for Bitcoin, and early signs suggest this year may be no exception. Even the US government shutdown that began at the start of the month, the first since 2018-2019, which furloughed over 90% of SEC staff and left the CFTC operating with skeleton crews of 5-6%, hasn’t derailed momentum, showing how resilient Bitcoin has become of late.”

“Far from being a speculative outlier, Bitcoin continues to show its ability to defy the odds and assert itself as a digital asset with staying power. For long-term investors, the trend is clear, Bitcoin’s strength is structural, not seasonal.”

Market veterans describe Uptober as a self-reinforcing mix of calendar flows and risk appetite. As funds rotate for year-end, liquidity improves and volatility often skews higher, which has historically favored upside in Bitcoin.

BTC is looking amazing- but is this rally sustainable? With BTC reaching historical highs and massively overextended on this week's incredible Uptober rally, are there signs and signals pointing to a correction- or a gravity-defying continuation to $124k and beyond… pic.twitter.com/ro6WYJ0knu

Derivatives desks pointed to brisk activity around key round numbers, while spot volumes improved into the close. The tone echoed prior Octobers when momentum, once established, tended to persist for days.

Regulatory uncertainty still looms, yet the immediate market read signalled resilience. Traders tracked headlines and monitored the pace of approvals and guidance, even as staffing at US agencies thinned during the shutdown.

Przemysław Kral, CEO of zondacrypto, said: “The US government shutdown, now a reality, can damage the crypto industry by disrupting the SEC and CFTC, which are vital to global digital asset markets.”

He warned that reduced staffing could slow innovation and dent investor confidence, with delays to guidance, approvals and enforcement. Work on items such as the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act may slip, and open questions around the Anti-CBDC Act could linger, weakening trust.

Federal payment hiccups could nudge users toward stablecoins, and an underpowered SEC may also slow crypto ETF decisions. All of this could “offer industry leaders a chance to lobby for clearer, faster rules in post-shutdown budget talks,” he said.

For now, momentum sets the tone. If Uptober follows its usual script, traders will watch whether $120,000 holds as support, while fund flows and macro cues steer the next leg.

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