Bitcoin surpassed $85,000 on Monday for the first time since late January, extending a rebound that has pushed its three-month gain to nearly 35%. The rally has fueled optimism that the crypto winter is ending, with Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan declaring the start of a new bull market driven by improving fundamentals and institutional participation. Options data showed call contracts far outpacing puts, while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed $433 million on September 18. The advance came despite last week's Senate defeat of the Clarity Act, with analysts arguing that the current pro-crypto SEC and CFTC may deliver favorable regulation anyway. Crypto-linked stocks including Strategy, Coinbase and Robinhood rose in premarket trading. Analysts at BTIG see $90,000 as the next major target.
Bitcoin vaulted above $85,000 on Monday for the first time since late January, extending a powerful rebound that has rekindled debate over whether the prolonged digital-asset downturn is finally over.
The world's largest cryptocurrency climbed as high as $85,229 during the session before settling around $84,256, a gain of roughly 3.8% over the previous day, according to CoinMetrics. The move pushed weekly gains past 7% and brought the token's three-month advance to nearly 35%, even as it remains far below the record of more than $126,000 set in October 2025.
Ether also advanced, rising 3.5% to $2,726, while XRP gained 5.5% to $1.49.
The rally has emboldened bulls who argue that the so-called crypto winter — the depressed period that followed the 2025 peak — has run its course. Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, told CNBC that the market has entered what he called "crypto spring."
"I do think it's over, it's crypto spring, the crocuses are blooming," he said. "I think this will actually be the strongest and longest-running bull market in crypto's history."
Hougan pointed to a unusual divergence that has defined this cycle: prices fell cyclically while underlying fundamentals improved. Blockchain transaction volumes have expanded and major financial institutions such as BlackRock have deepened their involvement, he noted.
"We had this unusual situation where you had a cyclical decline in prices even as you had a secular improvement in fundamentals. And now I suspect that prices are going to catch up toward the end of the year," he said. "I don't think if I came back next year, we'd still be below those all-time highs."
The Bitwise investment chief also highlighted a rotation in momentum capital. The artificial intelligence boom had "sucked all the oxygen out of the room," he said, drawing attention away from crypto. With AI enthusiasm leveling off, that money is now flowing back into digital assets.
Options market data underscored the bullish tilt. On the Deribit platform, open interest in call options exceeded 272,000 contracts, dwarfing the roughly 154,000 put contracts outstanding, according to data cited by Bloomberg. That imbalance reflects a market positioned for further upside.
A short squeeze has amplified the move. Coinglass data showed more than $250 million in short liquidations during a concentrated window Monday, as leveraged bets against Bitcoin were unwound. Analysts have flagged a dense band of short positions between $83,000 and $86,000, meaning forced buying could extend the rally further.
Institutional demand has also returned. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds absorbed $433 million on September 18 alone, led by Fidelity's FBTC with $310.7 million and BlackRock's IBIT with $108.4 million. Those inflows helped offset roughly $746 million in midweek redemptions, leaving the week with a slender net positive. Cumulative inflows since the products launched in 2024 now stand near $55 billion, with total net assets above $102 billion.
Analysts at BTIG said in a note Sunday that as long as Bitcoin held the $75,000 level, "bulls can target a push through 82k on the way to" $90,000. With the token now clearing $85,000, that $90,000 threshold represents the next major technical hurdle.
Crypto-linked equities followed the token higher in premarket trading Monday. Strategy climbed about 7%, while Coinbase and Robinhood rose 4.8% and 3.7%, respectively. Bitcoin miners also advanced, with Mara Holdings and Riot Platforms each gaining nearly 5%, Hut 8 up 4.8%, and CleanSpark rising 4.3%.
The rebound's resilience is notable given the political backdrop. Last week, the U.S. Senate voted 49-50 against cloture on the motion to proceed with the Clarity Act, the industry's flagship market-structure bill that would have established a regulatory framework and divided oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Sixty votes were required. Bitcoin sold off sharply in the immediate aftermath, briefly dipping below $76,000.
Yet buyers returned quickly. Hougan argued that the bill's failure may not be the setback it appeared. "It's the most pro-crypto SEC in the history of the U.S.; it's the most pro-crypto CFTC in the history of the U.S. So ironically, in the absence of Clarity passing, we may actually have stronger pro-crypto regulation," he said.
Regulatory progress outside Congress has also provided support. On September 17, the SEC opened a limited innovation exemption allowing qualifying tokenized U.S. stocks to trade on blockchain-based platforms under volume caps. The CFTC separately sent broader crypto-market rule proposals to the White House. Market participants described these agency steps as a partial substitute for legislation.
Macro conditions have contributed as well. The Federal Reserve delivered a 25-basis-point rate hike last week, its first since 2023, yet risk assets recovered as oil prices eased from recent highs and long-term Treasury yields pulled back. The debasement trade narrative — Bitcoin and gold as hedges against fiscal expansion and dollar weakness — has remained a background theme since the Treasury expanded long-end buybacks in August.
Technical signals have turned decisively positive. Bitcoin closed last week above its 50-week moving average for the first time since November 2025, a line that had capped rallies for months. Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, noted that such closes have historically served as strong confirmation that bear-market lows are in place. He counted 13 crossings back above the line across completed bear markets, with only two followed by a lower low, both during the 2021-2022 slide.
Attention now turns to the September close and the seasonal pattern known as Uptober. October has historically been one of Bitcoin's strongest months, delivering positive returns in the large majority of years since 2013 and average gains near 20%. A firm September finish above $85,000 would position the market for that traditional fourth-quarter window.
Risks remain. Leverage is still elevated, Treasury yields have not fully reversed, and the midterm election calendar could keep policy in flux. A failure to hold the recent gains would likely invite another test of the mid-$70,000s.
For now, however, the tape has sent a clear message: the Clarity Act's defeat did not halt institutional demand or the technical recovery already underway. Bitcoin's brief spike to $85,000 on Monday was the latest evidence that the market has chosen to look through the political disappointment and toward the final quarter of the year.
