Investing.com– Bitcoin moved little on Friday and was set to break the “uptober” trend as heightened risk aversion, amid U.S.-China trade tensions and economic uncertainty, battered demand for cryptocurrencies.
The world’s largest crypto fell 0.3% to $110,012.4, and was trading down 3.7% in October.
Crypto markets took few positive cues from a recent meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as a concrete trade deal between the two countries still appeared to be a ways off.
Hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve had pressured crypto markets earlier this week, while a rally in U.S. technology stocks, on optimism over artificial intelligence, had little bearing on Bitcoin.
Bitcoin set for October losses as ‘uptober’ fails to materialize
Bitcoin moved against seasonal trends this year, and was headed for its first October loss since 2018.
This was largely in contrast to market expectations that the crypto would firm in the month, with October being viewed as seasonally strong for Bitcoin. The trend is referred to as “uptober” in crypto trading circles.
Heightened U.S.-China trade tensions were a major factor in Bitcoin’s performance, with the coin experiencing a flash crash earlier in the month, from record highs.
Bitcoin has since struggled to break above $110,000, with on-chain and derivatives data also showing traders remaining averse towards any big bets.
Bitcoin and broader crypto markets were seen breaking away further from their correlation with U.S. technology stocks in October, as the latter was boosted to record highs on hype over AI. The Nasdaq Composite was set to gain over 4% in October.
Strategy earnings beat expectations, stock jumps afterhours
Bitcoin Treasury firm Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR) clocked stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings for the September quarter, sending its shares up sharply in aftermarket trade.
Strategy traded up as much as 6% in extended trading on Thursday.
The company is the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, and benefited from the coin hitting a series of record highs in the past three months.
Strategy Chair Michael Saylor said he expects Bitcoin to hit $150,000 by end-2025.
Other crypto earnings also rang positive. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) clocked strong third-quarter earnings on robust trading volumes through the quarter, also sending its shares higher on Thursday.
Crypto price today: altcoins falter, head for steep Oct losses
Broader crypto prices moved largely in tandem with Bitcoin, and were nursing steep losses in October.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 1.8% to $3,849.69, and was down 7% in October.
XRP fell 3% and was down 12.6% in October. Solana fell 11% in October, while Cardano vastly underperformed its peers, losing 24%.
BNB was an outlier this month, and was set to rise nearly 9%.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin was down 20% this month, while $TRUMP was headed for a 9% gain in October after rallying this week.
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