Bitcoin maintained its impressive performance this morning, contributing to what has become a remarkable October for the leading cryptocurrency. Despite a somewhat sluggish start to the month, the BTC/USDT pair has surged by 14% since the beginning of October, with substantial double-digit growth in the past week. This surge can be attributed to a combination of favorable factors.
Foremost among these factors is the heightened anticipation surrounding the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. It appears that securities regulators are stepping back from their previously hawkish stance on the matter. Bitcoin enthusiasts are naturally enthused by the possibility of major institutions like BlackRock, Ark Invest, and Grayscale receiving the green light to offer bitcoin investment products on the stock exchange.
This upward momentum coincides with a parallel surge in gold prices, indicating a correlation with the prices of safe-haven assets, particularly in the face of deteriorating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
These positive developments propelled Bitcoin above the $30,000 mark, even testing the $31,000 level for the first time in three months, at which point some profit-taking ensued. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at a robust $30,700.
In contrast to Bitcoin’s performance, the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), remains below its 200-day trendline, although it showed strength over the weekend. Since Friday’s close, the ETH/USDT pair has gained over 5%, reaching an October high just shy of $1,700 at the time of writing.
In the broader altcoin space, Solana (SOL) has outpaced the market by adding more than a third to its market capitalization in the past seven days, catapulting the Ethereum alternative to the seventh position in the cryptocurrency rankings.
Furthermore, a positive trend extends to other major cryptocurrencies, with Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), and Ripple (XRP) all displaying upward price movements.
The robust performance of these cryptocurrencies continues to put pressure on short positions in the futures market, with an additional $85 million in short orders liquidated within the past 24 hours.
The total global cryptocurrency market capitalization currently stands at $1.16 trillion, with Bitcoin maintaining a solid dominance at 52.5%.
