“Uptober” (the name under which October is known on the cryptocurrency market) has started with explosive bullish momentum. Two top-ten cryptos – Bitcoin and Binance Coin (BNB) have surged to fresh all-time highs. This has been one of the strongest October starts in recent years as market optimism and financial instability have expanded rapidly this fall.
Bitcoin has spiked past its previous all-time high of $124,000, scoring a new historic peak at $125,559. Thus, the flagship cryptocurrency has demonstrated a staggering 15% increase from $109,000 since September 30, hitting a new ATH. As for BNB, it reached a new historic peak of $1,190 last week, after the previous one of $1,000. Both coins were propelled by the bullish market sentiment and a broader crypto market recovery.
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US government shutdown and Standard Chartered Bitcoin price prediction
Bitcoin’s current rally has been largely fueled by the potential of an extended US government shutdown. This traditional period of political standoff has historically driven investors from traditional markets, such as US Treasuries, to alternative investment tools, like gold and, over the past few years, Bitcoin as well.
A “government shutdown” in the US takes place when Congress fails to approve legislation to fund governmental agencies. This causes them to suspend operations and furlough their employees. This shutdown usually brings uncertainty to financial markets, reduces confidence in the US dollar, and it also often triggers increased purchasing of safe-haven assets. Over the past week, the Democrats and Republicans have failed to agree on the budget for the next year.
As a result, several governmental departments have warned that they may soon run out of funding. Besides, Trump and his administration have suspended $28 billion in funding that was planned for Democratic-governed states. Analysts and the White House predict that the government may suffer a $15 billion loss in GDP if the shutdown continues. Besides, approximately 750,000 governmental employees may be furloughed.
Besides, lately it has been typical for investors to turn to Bitcoin as a digital alternative to gold amid periods when the US government shows instability or when there are risks of fiat currency devaluation. Now that “Uptober” has begun, the risk of the prolonged governmental shutdown, combined with inflation and the economic growth slowing down, is prompting investors and traders are rapidly turn to Bitcoin again under the popular slogan “Bitcoin fixes this.”
Amid the current economic uncertainty and the government’s shutdown, the Standard Chartered banking giant has made a vibrant prediction, saying that it expects Bitcoin to hit $200,000 by the end of 2025. This forecast has made headlines in leading news outlets, grabbing the attention of the crypto community. The bank cited the rising adoption of Bitcoin ETFs, the increasing BTC accumulation by corporations and treasury companies, and the approaching 2028 halving as the key catalysts of this potential surge.
Strategy buys more Bitcoin, expanding to Robinhood
Meanwhile, Strategy founder and executive chairman, Michael Saylor, continues to position himself as a prominent Bitcoin evangelist. Earlier this week, Saylor published a poll on his X account, asking his 3 million followers if Bitcoin is likely to hit $150,000 by the end of the year.
The poll went viral, quickly gathering massive attention and a large number of likes, retweets, and comments – “yes” responses. Besides, Strategy continues to stack BTC. On September 29, Saylor announced on the X platform that his company made another large BTC acquisition. This time, it purchased an impressive 196 Bitcoins worth approximately $22.1 million at an average price of $113,048 per coin. This brings the company’s total BTC holdings to 640,031 coins worth more than $70 billion at the current BTC/USD exchange rate.
Aside from the acquisition, Saylor also announced that Strategy’s BTC-backed securities – STRC, STRK, & STRF – are now available for retail trading on Robinhood. This promises higher capital flows into Strategy for Bitcoin accumulation in the future.
Binance Coin (BNB) hits new price record
BNB, the native token of the BNB Chain, has followed Bitcoin’s momentum, reaching a new all-time price high, too. Analysts believe this price surge to $1,190 could be attributed to several factors. Among them is the expanding decentralized finance (DeFi) activities on the Binance network, increased BNB token burns, and a stable rise in on-chain transactions. On top of that, BNB has regained the wide market attention as the utility token that powers one of the biggest ecosystems in the crypto space – Binance.
Another bullish driver has been the new dex that has been launched on the BNB Chain – Aster.
The dex is backed by YZi Labs, formerly known as Binance Labs. The native coin of this dex has demonstrated an impressive price surge lately, reaching $1.83. This coin is ranked 38 on the CoinMarketCap scale.
