Bitcoin steadied above $84,000 on Sunday as market participants assessed the closing days of what has become one of the strongest third quarters on record for the token. Trading data showed the cryptocurrency at $84,626.50 as of 01:39 ET (05:39 GMT) on Sunday, up 0.84% for the day.
The coin has rallied sharply over the quarter, gaining roughly 43.5% since about $58,500 at the start of July. That performance positions this Q3 as the strongest for Bitcoin since 2017, when the token climbed roughly 80%, according to the data cited in market commentary. Ether has also posted substantial quarterly gains, rising about 71% over the same period and appearing on track for its best Q3 on record.
Market dynamics contributing to the advance included elevated spot trading activity and comparatively muted profit-taking. These factors helped Bitcoin weather a large quarterly options expiry on Friday without triggering outsized volatility, leaving the token relatively stable as September approached its end.
Institutional interest
Institutional demand surfaced as another driver of attention. Strategy Group Chairman Michael Saylor urged U.S. banks to broaden their roles in the Bitcoin ecosystem, advocating that banks offer custody services for Bitcoin and provide loans backed by the cryptocurrency. He flagged current capital regime constraints as a barrier to wider bank participation and called on regulators to re-examine the 1,250% risk weighting applied to the riskiest category of crypto holdings under international banking standards.
Saylor further urged regulators to treat differently banks that custody Bitcoin on behalf of customers, banks that lend against crypto collateral, and banks that take positions with their own capital.
Security issues and exchange fallout
Crypto security remained a material market concern following the reported $387.5 million hack of exchange Bitget. According to coverage, the attacker moved roughly $83 million of the stolen XRP from three holding wallets by Saturday, while about $75 million remained across the original accounts. The technical controls on the XRP Ledger that allow issuers to freeze tokens do not apply to XRP itself, meaning the issuer Ripple cannot directly freeze the funds; exchanges retain the ability to restrict accounts that receive stolen funds.
Bitget stated that its protection fund would absorb the losses and that customer balances were unaffected. The exchange provided a timetable for resuming withdrawals: Bitcoin withdrawals were scheduled to restart on Sept. 28, followed by ether on Sept. 29 and USDT on Sept. 30.
Altcoin snapshot
- Ether rose 0.66% to $2,704.21.
- XRP slipped 2.02% to $1.5190.
- Solana increased 0.49% to $121.11.
- BNB edged up 0.09% to $773.70.
- Cardano fell 0.78% to $0.2530.
- Dogecoin declined 1.19%.
Broader crypto prices were mixed during muted Sunday trading, with Bitcoin remaining the focal point as the quarter closed.
Outlook and market focus
With only a few days left in the third quarter, market attention centered on Bitcoin's quarterly performance and how the token would hold up after the options expiry and amid ongoing security developments. Elevated spot volumes and conservative profit-taking helped to support prices through the weekend, while institutional commentary and exchange recovery plans added layers of influence on market sentiment.