Fall may finally be here, but any impending Crypto Winter still seems far away. On Friday, Bitcoin continued its five-day rally to near $124,000, mere hundreds of dollars from an all-time high that the leading cryptocurrency notched in mid-August. And for longtime crypto watchers, the start of October is living up to its “Uptober” nickname.
Despite volatility in stock prices spurred by the U.S. government shutdown, the price of Bitcoin has been steadily climbing since last Sunday, with investors egged on by a Thursday report from JPMorgan analysts who predicted it could reach $165,000 by the end of the year, citing Bitcoin’s utility as a hedge against the devaluation of fiat currencies.
Crypto advocates have long argued that Bitcoin could serve as a safe haven amid government uncertainty because of its decentralized architecture, though the cryptocurrency has often traded in lockstep with traditional equity markets. But in recent months, investors have poured into Bitcoin amid threats of tariffs. The JPMorgan analysts argued that Bitcoin remains undervalued compared with another favorite hedge among investors: gold.
Other cryptocurrencies have also soared in recent days, with Ethereum climbing nearly 9% over the past week to $4,500.
Not everyone agreed with JPMorgan’s rosy prognostication. Alex Blume, founder and CEO of investment advisor Two Prime, described Bitcoin’s recent gains as a “precarious rally” in commentary shared with Fortune, arguing that it might be caused by investors expecting a fourth-quarter rally. Still, Blume pointed out that even stock prices are trending upward, meaning that the market is reacting to broader monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates. “There’s pretty much no other way to foresee the future other than more money printing, a net benefit for BTC,” he wrote.
Crypto’s climb comes as U.S. regulatory agencies continue to loosen restrictions on investor access to digital assets. Recent decisions by the Securities and Exchange Commission have allowed new exchange-traded funds centered around cryptocurrencies such as XRP and Solana, and have created an opening for different financial firms to custody digital assets on behalf of their clients.
A lone dissenter at the SEC, commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, argued in a statement earlier this week that the new interpretation could open investors up to risks, from theft to misappropriation of their assets. “I fear investors’ assets may fall through the cracks,” she wrote.
