Bitcoin (BTC) has jumped more than 6% to the $86,600 level, bringing the question back to the forefront of whether it can align with equities in the fourth quarter along with an improvement in Wall Street’s investment sentiment.
Key point
Fueled by a recovery in investment sentiment, Bitcoin surged more than 6% to around $86,600.
The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan both raised interest rates this month, but U.S. stocks have maintained a solid trend, with large tech stocks re-emerging as the leading players.
Assessments say that fears that had weighed on the September market—such as oil prices, AI safety concerns, and pressure from interest rates—have eased, creating a more favorable environment for risk assets.
Bitcoin: subtle shifts in September’s market environment
Bitcoin rose more than 6% on September 21 and traded near the $86,600 level, with a cumulative gain of about 12% so far this month. This rally came after major equity markets managed to hold up without a clear collapse as investors worked through a mix of negative factors throughout September, including high interest rates, a surge in oil prices, and controversies over AI safety.
The S&P 500 saw a 37-trading-day stretch in which there was never a single day with a decline of 1% or more. This suppression of volatility helped support investor sentiment across the broader risk asset complex, even though the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of Japan both raised interest rates in the same month.
Of course, Bitcoin has not always moved in lockstep with stocks.
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Amoroso’s view on risky assets
**Partners Group**’s Chief Investment Strategist **Anastasia Amoroso** said in a CNBC ‘Closing Bell’ interview that the stock market has more room to rise further by year-end, as concerns over soaring oil prices, AI safety, and high interest rates have eased.
**Carson Group**’s Chief Market Strategist **Ryan Detrick** said the Fed’s recent monetary-policy message was closer to dovish than market expectations—allowing the stock market to absorb the shock without a major pullback despite interest rate hikes.
Katie Stockton, founder of Fairlead Strategies, noted that mega-cap tech stocks and semiconductor stocks have returned to the front of the market. She assessed that this restoration of leadership is a necessary condition for the stock market’s upward trend to continue.
This resurgence of large growth stocks is drawing the spotlight back onto risky assets as a whole. For Bitcoin, the key question is whether improved investor sentiment and stock strength will become a force that channels funds into digital assets—or whether it will be a chance for capital to return to traditional assets.
Bitcoin is up about 12% this month, but its track record in recent years has been mixed. This is because even during periods when its correlation with stocks was as high as that of high-beta tech stocks, it failed to join some major stock-market rallies.
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