Bitcoin gained roughly 42.6% in Q3 2026, marking its strongest third quarter performance in nine years.
What makes the move more notable is how much ground BTC had to recover. Bitcoin recorded losses in both Q1 and Q2, putting significant pressure on the market before the third-quarter rebound changed the picture.
Q3 effectively became the quarter where Bitcoin regained momentum, with the rally helping erase a large portion of the weakness seen during the first half of the year.
Now the focus shifts to Q4.
After its strongest Q3 since 2017, can Bitcoin carry that momentum into the final quarter of 2026? #uptober
Bitcoin gained roughly 7% in September, while the S&P 500 was nearly flat and gold dropped more than 6%, according to Santiment data.
That’s an interesting shift after a period where Bitcoin was trading more like a risk asset alongside equities.
Gold’s 6%+ decline is particularly notable given how strong the metal had been earlier in the year. Meanwhile, BTC managed to finish the month higher despite elevated Treasury yields and continued macro uncertainty.
The numbers don’t prove Bitcoin has completely decoupled from traditional markets, but they do show that September belonged to BTC.
Bitcoin +7%. Stocks flat. Gold 6%. Q4 starts with crypto back in the spotlight. #uptober
🔥 AVALANCHE JUST MADE BLOCK VERIFICATION 100X FASTER
Avalanche has upgraded its block verification system with Helicon, pushing verification speeds up to 100x faster than previous peak performance.
The upgrade targets one of the biggest challenges for high throughput blockchains, verifying blocks quickly without sacrificing the security of the network.
Faster verification means Avalanche can process and confirm network activity more efficiently, which becomes increasingly important as transaction demand and onchain applications scale.
This isn’t simply about a faster headline number. Improvements at the verification layer can directly affect how much activity a blockchain can handle while keeping confirmation times low.
Avalanche is pushing the infrastructure side of the network forward and Helicon could make a major difference as onchain activity scales.
Bitwise’s NEAR ETF ($NRR) is officially trading today on NYSE Arca, giving U.S. investors direct spot exposure to NEAR through a traditional exchange traded product.
What makes this launch more interesting is the staking component. Bitwise plans to stake the fund’s NEAR holdings in house, with staking rewards accruing to shareholders through the fund’s NAV. The ETF carries a 0.75% management fee.
This adds NEAR to the growing list of crypto assets gaining access to U.S. ETF infrastructure beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Spot exposure + staking in one product. Now the market gets to see how much demand U.S. investors have for NEAR. $NEAR $AVAX