BTC hit a new all-time high of $125,500 on Sunday despite the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Crypto markets kicked off the new week up 2%, with the total market capitalization approaching $4.4 trillion for the first time.
According to data from CoinGecko, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $125,028, up 1.7% on the day, slightly retracing from a new all-time high of $125,506 set on Sunday, while Ethereum (ETH) gained 3% to $4,670, extending its weekly gain to 11%.
Among the top 10 altcoins by market capitalization, BNB is the biggest daily gainer, with a 5% surge, pushing the token to a new all-time high of $1,220. XRP is up 1% to $3.03, while Solana (SOL) rose 2% to $235.
Among the Top 100 digital assets, Zcash (ZEC) was the biggest daily gainer, climbing 15.8%, extending last week’s rally, whereas Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) posted the steepest loss, down 4.9%.
In commentary to The Defiant, Emir Ibrahim, analyst at Zerocap, a Melbourne-based crypto asset trading firm, said Bitcoin’s new high was “underpinned by a combination of macro tailwinds and structural demand.”
“The ongoing U.S. government shutdown reinforced Bitcoin’s ‘digital gold’ appeal amid policy paralysis and a softer dollar,” Ibrahim said.
Farzam Ehsani, CEO and co-founder of VALR, South Africa’s crypto exchange, told The Defiant that political fragility, expanding institutional exposure, the weak dollar, favorable liquidity, and seasonal conditions “all point towards BTC testing higher levels in Q4.”
“If these forces remained aligned and no fresh macro or geopolitical headwind derails sentiment, Bitcoin could trade in the $130,000-$135,000 range in Q4 with a potential run to $140,000 by Q1 of 2026,” Ehsani explained.
Glassnode analysts noted in a Monday X post that Bitcoin’s spot market volumes have rebounded. From now on, sustained activity “will be key, as continued strength would support market depth while fading volume could signal waning momentum, the analysts added.
Analysts at Keyrock also noted in a market overview on Monday that this week’s rebound in altcoins “comes during October’s seasonal tailwinds for crypto and potential ETF-related inflows as supportive drivers.”
Liquidations, ETFs, and Macro
In the past 24 hours, over $233 million in leveraged positions were liquidated, according to CoinGlass. BTC led the wipeout with over $41.6 million liquidated, followed by ETH at $40.7 million and other altcoins totaling nearly $32 million.
Last week, spot ETH ETFs saw inflows exceeding $1.3 billion, marking the fourth-largest weekly inflow on record, according to SoSoValue. Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted more than $3.24 billion, the second-largest weekly inflow in their history.
In total, crypto ETFs attracted $5.95 billion last week, driven by a “delayed response to weak employment data, and concerns over U.S. government stability,” CoinShares’ head of research James Butterfill wrote in a Monday update.
The big macro story right now is the government shutdown and the data gap it’s causing. Agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, and the BEA have said they’ll pause collecting and publishing economic data until funding is restored, Reuters reported.
