Bitcoins adds $124 billion to its market cap since the start of ‘Uptober’

Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied over 10% this week as institutional demand continues to rise, supporting the narrative that September lows are usually followed by strong upward movements.

Indeed, historical data shows that October tends to deliver high returns for the cryptocurrency (over 20% on average), earning the month its signature “Uptober” nickname.

The situation this year is particularly interesting, as the Bitcoin price has been propped by more than favorable macroeconomic conditions, including the U.S. government shutdown following a failure to pass a funding bill on Wednesday, October 1.

Given all the positive factors that are coinciding together, it is not surprising that “digital gold” has seen a noticeable increase in valuation over the past few days. Indeed, since the beginning of the month, Bitcoin market cap has climbed up from $2.276 trillion to roughly $2.40 trillion at press time, Friday, October 3, as per CoinMarket Cap. That marks a $124 billion, or nearly 5.5%, increase.

At the time of writing, BTC is trading at approximately $120,280, up a modest 0.60% on the daily chart.

Bitcoin on a run

With the $120,000 level reclaimed, investor confidence is also rising, particularly in the exchange-traded funds (ETF) sector. For instance, BlackRock alone saw $446 million in inflows on Thursday, October 2.

Large-holder activity has also been noteworthy, as whales have bought over 30,000 Bitcoin BTC in 48 hours, worth about $3,6 billion.

Further appetite could, of course, drive the momentum further, extending the rally to potentially new all-time highs (ATH) in the final quarter. Accordingly, Citigroup raised its year-end targets for the asset to $132,000.

However, maintaining the $120,000 level will be critical. Immediate resistance sits at $122,000, just below the August 14 ATH of $124,474. Conversely, a slip below $120,000 could potentially lead to further losses at $117,000 and temporarily stall the rally.

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